Home Office

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a timetable for the cessation of the use of the Great Northern Hotel in Peterborough as asylum accommodation.

Robert Jenrick: Due to the continued pressures on the Asylum Estate, we are needing to use emergency accommodation hotels for a longer period that originally envisaged, and this has resulted in the conversion of this hotel to lo0nger term contingency accommodation.There is no plan to decant this site and by using this site as longer-term contingency accommodation, there should be more of a settled residency staying in the hotel until they are dispersed into longer term accommodation. Service users will be supported to registered with health services, access school places, engagement with other local services such as ESOL, engage NGOs for more long terms support (over and above that provided by Migrant Help), accessing local faith groups.

Members: Correspondence

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to the letter of 25 January 2023 from the hon. Member for Peterborough on a hotel in Peterborough being stood up for asylum accommodation.

Robert Jenrick: A response will be provided shortly.

Migration and Undocumented Migrants: Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission research on the impact of (a) conflict, (b) economic exclusion, (c) religious and ethnic persecution, (d) famine and (e) terrorism on migration from the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa and illegal migration into the UK.

Robert Jenrick: Migration is a permanent feature of the global economy. It is estimated that there are 281 million international migrants globally, accounting for about 3.6% of the global population. Work remains the major reason people migrate internationally, but UNHCR estimate that 100 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced from their homes. In Sub-Saharan Africa including the Sahel, millions of people have been displaced from their homes due to conflict, human rights violations, violence and natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change; the vast majority remain in or near their country of origin. His Majesty’s Government takes a “whole of route” approach to addressing the challenges of illegal migration, recognising that people’s motivations to move can be complex and inter-related. There are a number of drivers for migration and some of those include illegal migration to the UK or other European countries. While the Home Office does monitor trends, there is no plan to commission any new research at this time.

Passports: Applications

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase the efficiency of the passport renewal process.

Robert Jenrick: His Majesty’s Passport Office remains fully resourced following its significant increase of over 1200 staff between April 2021 and last summer. With the continued introduction of process improvements, HM Passport Office has processed over 2.3 million applications up to the week ending 19th March, with over 99.5% of standard UK applications being processed within ten weeks and over 94% being processed within three weeks.

Clothing: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to help prevent the use of (a) balaclavas and (b) other non-religious face coverings in serious crime.

Chris Philp: Section 60AA of the Public Order Act 1994 provides the police, under certain conditions, with the power to demand the removal of face coverings, as well as a power to seize items believed to be intended for this purpose. The government has no plans to extend these powers.

Visas: Seasonal Workers

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2023 to Question 171513 on Visas: Seasonal Workers, when her Department expects the compliance investigation into Fruitful Ltd to conclude.

Robert Jenrick: Home Office guidance, compliance findings and information submitted by the sponsor are currently being analysed. This assessment process is within the published timeframe for a decision.Details of the licence suspension process can be found at: Part 3: Sponsor duties and compliance (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the potential impact of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme on the tourism industry in Northern Ireland.

Robert Jenrick: Home Office and Northern Ireland Office ministers and officials are in regular contact on a range of mutual interests, including the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme. Those entering the UK, including those crossing the land border into Northern Ireland are expected to do so, in line with the UK’s immigration framework. This will include the requirement to have an ETA when they are introduced if it is applicable to them. The Government remains committed to working with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the ETA requirement is communicated effectively to help mitigate against any risk of it being seen as an increased barrier to cross-border tourism on the island of Ireland.

Passports: Dual Nationality

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances her Department issues British passports containing a reference to the holder's dual nationality.

Robert Jenrick: HM Passport Office do not make specific references to a customer’s dual nationality in their British passport.However, there are circumstances (outlined in published guidance on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/names-aligning-names-on-foreign-documents) when they will add an observation to show the customer has a foreign passport, travel document or national identity card in a different name.The observation will name the country that the foreign passport, travel document or national identity document is from, rather than the nationality status.

Visas: Overseas Students

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to add the Maldives to the differential evidence requirement list for UK Student Visas..

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office keeps the differentiated nationals list under review, based on an assessment of objective data, and does not undertake reviews on request or disclose any detail related to the process.

Immigration Controls: Commonwealth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing priority passport queues for Commonwealth citizens.

Robert Jenrick: Border Force are not responsible for management of queues at arrivals, this is the responsibility of the relevant airport. Whilst there are currently no plans to change queuing arrangements at the UK Border, those arrangements remain under constant review in order to prioritise security, maintain fluidity and ensure that we continue to run our border in the UK's best interests.As the quickest and most efficient method of crossing the border, we encourage all eligible passengers to make use of the e-Gates at our ports of entry where possible.

Illegal Migration Bill

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill on movement across the land border on the island of Ireland.

Robert Jenrick: Individuals who enter the UK illegally via the Irish border into Northern Ireland or via any route within the Common Travel Area will be removed to their home country (if it is safe to do so) or to a safe third country.

Police: Standards

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to make the police more efficient and better resourced.

Chris Philp: In recent years, this Government has committed substantial funding to invest in policing and reduce crime. We are on track to recruit 20,000 additional officers by the end of this month, taking us for the first time to over 148,400 officers across England and Wales. This will be the highest number of officers in post on record. Police, like all public services, should ensure they make the best use of public money: The Government has confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £17.2 billion in 2023/24, an increase of up to £313.8 million when compared to 2022/23. This settlement is on the basis that the policing sector delivers efficiency savings from force budgets by 2024/25. These will be delivered through improvements in areas including commercial and procurement practices, as well as corporate functions. This includes the role of BlueLight Commercial - a sector-owned company - set up to provide commercial expertise and assistance to policing and assist forces in identifying and making efficiency savings. In 2021/22 the company assisted policing in make efficiency savings of almost £40 million (including cashable savings of £24.8 million and non-cashable savings of £14.8 million). The Home Secretary has asked the NPCC to undertake a Review into the Operational Productivity of Policing to improve understanding of effectiveness, identifying the barriers to productivity, and the most efficient operating models. This includes simplifying the Home Office Counting Rules to free up police time, which could be spent more effectively on preventing and investigating crime and supporting victims. The Home Office is also working closely with the police and health sectors, including DHSC, to help reduce pressures on the police caused by mental health incidents, which are taking officer time away from fighting crime. The Home Office will continue to strive for improvements in police efficiency and work closely with sector representatives to ensure that the police have the resources they need.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to the House on 28 March on Afghan Resettlement Update, what data her Department holds on the accommodation of those Afghan nationals who are part of the 24,500 who have relocated in the UK but who are not part of the around (a) 8,000 in bridging hotels and (b) 9,000 in settled homes.

Robert Jenrick: Bridging accommodation is available to those who need it. A number of people have not needed to use it for a variety of reasons. For example, they may be the immediate family of a British national who owns a property in the UK, they have been able to stay with other family or friends or they have taken steps to secure their own private rented accommodation.The published operational data on Afghanistan including information on temporary accommodation and settled accommodation is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Further data on accommodation may be included in future operational data releases. The next of which is on the 25 May 2023.

Crimes of Violence: Crime Prevention

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on reducing serious violent crime.

Chris Philp: Tackling serious violent crime is a key priority for this government and we are working tirelessly to keep young people, families, and communities safe.By combining tough enforcement to get dangerous weapons off the streets with programmes that divert young people away from crime we are making significant progress in addressing the drivers of serious violent crime.This financial year (22/23) we have invested £64m into Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to deliver early intervention and prevention programmes to divert people away from a life of crime. VRUs bring together local partners to tackle the drivers of violence in their area. They have reached over 215,000 vulnerable people in their third year of funding alone.Our £30m ‘Grip’ hotspot policing programme operates in the same 20 areas as VRUs and is helping to drive down serious violence by using data processes to identify the top serious violence hotspots – often to individual street level – and target operational activity in those areas.The combination of these two programmes have prevented an estimated 136,000 violent offences in their first three years of operation. Relative to the amount of serious violence funding over the same period, this represents an estimated return of £4.10 in social benefit for every £1 invested in these programmes.To understand how to better prevent violence, the Home Office has also invested £200m over ten years in the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF). This provides funding for over 230 organisations, which have reached over 117,000 young people since YEF was set up in 2019.In addition, we are fully committed to providing police forces with all the resources they need to tackle serious violent crime. The Home Office has invested significantly in boosting police numbers through the Police Uplift Programme, aiming to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers by March 2023. As of 31 December 2022, 16,753 additional uplift officers have been recruited in England and Wales through the Police Uplift Programme. By the end of March 2023, we will have the highest number of police officers on record with over 148,000 officers in post, surpassing the previous peak of 146,030 officers in post in March 2010.To help police forces tackle knife carrying, we have introduced Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs). SVROs will be piloted in four police force areas, including the West Midlands, and will allow the police to stop and search adults convicted of a knife or offensive weapon offence. The new orders will help deter continued carrying of weapons, protect offenders from being drawn into further exploitation, and send a clear signal that carrying knives is unacceptable.Estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed that violent incidents have fallen by 38% compared with the year ending March 2010.

Asylum: Advisory Services

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2023 to Question 165397 on Asylum: Housing, what the cost to the public purse of the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service was in the last year; and what assessment she has made of the AIRE service's performance against its objectives.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2023 to Question 165397 on Asylum: Housing, how many concerns have been raised through the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility service in each month since it was set up; and how much compensation has been paid to her Department for failures in service performance in each of those months.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2023 to Question 165397 on Asylum: Housing, how much the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility service costs; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of its delivery.

Robert Jenrick: Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential. Therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Robust compliance and governance protocols exist to ensure daily engagement is undertaken with our service providers by Home Office officials to ensure and assure that the providers’ operational delivery and overall performance consistently meet the required standards. If any issues are identified providers are required to take immediate action to address and recover accordingly.The Home Office has published Key Performance Indicator statistics covering the contractual obligations accommodation providers and others working in the asylum sector are required to deliver. This has been done since April 2020. This data is available at Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 Advice, Issues Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support. As the data controller the Home Office are best placed to provide comprehensive responses to the requests of MPs. Should an MP approach Migrant Help directly, rather than the MPs correspondence team. Migrant help will refer these requests to the appropriate MPs team to investigate and respond.It would be inappropriate to comment on commercial arrangements with suppliers. All Home Office commercial contracts are designed to ensure the best value for taxpayers and the Home Office closely monitors its contractor’s performance, including financial results. Any profits above the agreed contractual margins comes back to the Home Office.

Members: Correspondence

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of correspondence from hon. Members.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has recently completed a correspondence recovery programme which saw it return to its 20-day service standard for new correspondence in mid-January, and has seen a reduction in overdue cases from 30,500 to 350.The Home Office has embedded new processes to increase resilience in the event of future unexpected spikes in correspondence, is planning a series of events with Members to share information about potential issues, and now has in place a team of Ministerial correspondence managers to ensure deadlines are met.

Immigration Controls: Passports

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to broaden eligibility of ePassport gates to include (a) children aged 10 and 11, (b) travellers with Electronic Travel Authorisation and (c) visa holders.

Robert Jenrick: The government has set out its ambitious vision for the future border, in which the majority of passengers will experience an e-gate style arrival. We are encouraged by the success of the recent trial involving 10- and 11-year-old children at three major airports and will shortly make a decision on whether to adopt the younger age limit more widely.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Indonesia: Earthquakes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department provided humanitarian funding and assistance to Indonesia in response to the earthquakes in that country in February 2022.

David Rutley: The Indonesian Government did not formally request bilateral assistance following the earthquake in West Sumatra in February 2022. The UK-based and Non-Governmental Organisation managed Start Fund did allocate funds for humanitarian assistance in response to the earthquake. The UK is a major contributor to the Start Fund centrally. UK officials remain in close contact with the Indonesian authorities and aid partners who manage and monitor disaster response in Indonesia. This includes the Indonesia National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Hong Kong: Human Rights

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help address concerns raised by the UN Human Rights Council on lack of accountability for human rights abuses in Hong Kong; and whether he plans to raise those issues with visiting Hong Kong officials in April 2023.

David Rutley: As the Foreign Secretary set out in a statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 February, we have been clear on the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong. We urge China to implement the recommendations in last year's UN Human Rights Committee report on Hong Kong and to uphold the Sino-British Joint Declaration. We will continue to raise the violation of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, China's imposition of the National Security Law and ongoing non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration with Hong Kong and Mainland China officials. The Foreign Secretary last did so with former foreign minister Wang Yi on 20 February.

China

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his counterparts at the United Nations on ending the advantages given to China as a consequence of its developing nation status.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The way different parts of the UN system categorise a country as 'developing' varies, as do the benefits of such a status. The UK is clear, including in discussions in the UN and elsewhere, that in light of China being one of largest global economies, we expect it to contribute responsibly to global challenges such as on climate and international development.

Cyprus: Politics and Government

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) trade and (b) other benefits of recognising the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Leo Docherty: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state. The United Kingdom recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority for the island of Cyprus. Several UN Security Council Resolutions and other multilateral agreements also limit links between the UK and the north of Cyprus. We continue to believe that a just and lasting settlement in Cyprus is the best means of resolving the difficulties caused by the division of the island.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: GCHQ

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's role in supporting the work of the Government Communications Headquarters.

Leo Docherty: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments that we do not comment on intelligence matters. The Foreign Secretary remains committed to his oversight responsibilities in line with the Intelligence Services Act 1994.

Peace

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that his Department's (a) defence, (b) diplomatic and (c) development policies help to promote peace in other countries.

Leo Docherty: The 2021 Integrated Review established the UK's approach to using our defence, diplomatic and development levers to address global challenges, including conflict, with the International Development Strategy outlining how we will tackle the root causes of conflict. The FCDO has established the Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation (OCSM) which works across government to increase the UK's impact in preventing, managing and resolving conflict. Both the Foreign Secretary and Minister for International Development sit on the National Security Council which ensures coordination across our development, foreign policy and security architecture, including on efforts to promote peace in other countries.

Cyprus: Fossil Fuels

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the prospects of cooperation between the UK, Northern Cyprus, the Republic of Cyprus and Turkiye on the exploitation of hydrocarbons.

Leo Docherty: We support the Republic of Cyprus' sovereign right to exploit any oil and gas in its internationally-agreed Exclusive Economic Zone, and believe that Cyprus' hydrocarbon development should be for the benefit of all Cypriots. We oppose any drilling in Cypriot waters that is at odds with those sovereign rights. We believe the most enduring way of resolving any tensions related to the exploitation of hydrocarbons is to achieve a Cyprus settlement. We call on all parties to redouble their efforts in pursuit of this.

Pakistan: Demonstrations

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Pakistani authorities on reports of attacks and harassment directed towards peaceful protesters since the change of Government in Pakistan in 2022.

Leo Docherty: Political protests are an internal matter for the Government of Pakistan. There is no place for violence in politics and the UK regularly engages the Government of Pakistan at a senior level on the need to uphold the rule of law and respect human rights.

Pakistan: Elections

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Pakistan on free and fair elections in that country in the last six months.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the health of democracy and the democratic process in Pakistan.

Leo Docherty: We respect Pakistan's democratic process and do not interfere in its domestic political affairs. We engage regularly with the Government of Pakistan, including on the upholding of democratic norms.

Shahid Hussain

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the arrest of UK national Shahid Hussain in Pakistan.

Leo Docherty: Mr Hussain was released on 27 March. We are aware of reports of arrests and continue to monitor the situation on the ground. Where there are credible allegations of human rights violations, we expect these to be investigated in line with due process.

Armed Conflict

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to provide (a) long-term and (b) flexible funding for programmes to help tackle the causes of conflicts in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Leo Docherty: The Spending Review 2021 provided a three-year settlement of £2.65 billion to the cross-government Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Launched in 2015 it operates in over 80 countries and territories, delivering more than 90 programmes and combines Official Development Assistance (ODA) and other, non-ODA funding sources and integrates activity of a number of British government departments, including the FCDO. The Fund is managed by the Cabinet Office and yearly allocations are signed off by the National Security Council.The 'Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a More contested and Volatile World' sets out how the UK will meet that challenge head-on. The new Integrated Security Fund (UKISF) will expand upon the existing CSSF. It will have a wider remit, funding projects both at home and overseas to tackle some of the most complex national security challenges facing the UK and its partners. With additional funding from other programming, the Fund will have a budget of almost £1 billion and will continue to spend UK aid money in line with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee rules and guidance.

Pakistan: Elections

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan on ensuring timely Provincial elections in Punjab, in line with the Constitution and orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

Leo Docherty: We respect Pakistan's democratic process and do not interfere in its domestic political affairs. The timing of elections is a matter for the Government of Pakistan, to be resolved through democratic and constitutional means.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Development Aid

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to spend at least 50 per cent of his Department's budget in fragile and conflict-affected states and regions.

Leo Docherty: Fragile and Conflict Affected States are central in the International Development Strategy (IDS), which aims to tackle the causes of crises and build the long-term foundations for lasting development. We cannot end extreme poverty in low- and middle-income countries without tackling conflict and fragility.Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations are being directed towards the strategic priorities of the IDS. The World Bank publishes an annual list of Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations. Eight of the top 10 country recipients of UK bilateral ODA in 2021 are on the World Bank list.

Development Aid

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to increase the proportion of UK Overseas Development Aid spending allocated to civilian peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resolution to 4 per cent by 2025.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In its December 2022 report, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) rated the UK's Approaches to Peacebuilding as green-amber and recognised the UK's meaningful contributions in this area. Official Development Assistance (ODA) is one element of how we deliver impact, but it is the combination of development, diplomacy and policy levers, in line with the principles in the 2021 Integrated Review, that has enabled the UK to maintain its effectiveness in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resolution. FCDO ODA allocations have been guided by the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy, the aims of which include tackling the causes of crises and building the long-term foundations for lasting development.

Commonwealth: Hunting

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat on trophy hunting in Commonwealth countries.

David Rutley: The Foreign Secretary held constructive discussions with many of his counterparts from Commonwealth countries and the Commonwealth Secretariat during the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting on 15 March 2023, including on climate resilience and environmental sustainability issues. The UK Government works closely with Commonwealth countries by providing financial support to practical projects through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. Trudy Harrison, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is the UK Government lead on the Hunting Trophies Bill.

Jimmy Lai

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the detention of Jimmy Lai.

David Rutley: The Foreign Secretary set out our views regarding developments in Hong Kong with State Councillor Wang Yi last month. The Minister for the Info-Pacific met representatives of Mr. Lai's international legal team on 10 January and Diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings. Mr Lai, among others, have been pursued in an obvious effort to silence opposition voices. We continue to make clear to mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities our strong opposition to the National Security Law, which is being used to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition, free press and civil society.

Food: United Nations

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will accept the recent request from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food to visit the UK.

David Rutley: We have a long-standing policy of accepting requests for visits by the Special Rapporteurs and other independent experts established by the UN Human Rights Council. We have already had one such visit in January this year and are working to prepare another visit in the coming months. We will engage with the office of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food to agree suitable dates for a visit in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Contracts

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the invitation to tender published by her Department on 21 December 2022 with procurement reference C5445, which organisation was awarded the resulting contract; when they are due to submit their (a) draft and (b) final reports; and what was the agreed value of that contract.

Rebecca Pow: Resource Futures were awarded the contract. The agreed value of the contract is £38,666.25 (excluding VAT) and we expect the research to be completed in the summer.

Peat Bogs: Environment Protection

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her timeline is for the banning of the (a) extraction and (b) commercial trade of peat.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timeline is for the banning of all sales of horticultural peat.

Trudy Harrison: The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture. Such a ban would make controls on extraction unnecessary. We propose to ban the retail sale of peat, accounting for around two thirds of peat sold, from 2024 when parliamentary time allows. At the same time, we will legislate for exemptions for professional growers to allow time for technical barriers to be overcome and peat-free alternatives to be further developed. We are minded to permit such exemptions until 2030, with no restriction on professional use until after 2026. Between 2027 and 2030, exemptions will be targeted on certain plant types and production methods where peat cannot be readily replaced. We will work with the sector to frame the exact nature of these exemptions based on the latest evidence. Finally, we propose a conservation exemption, to ensure that peat continues to be available for the safeguarding of vulnerable or endangered plant species where there is no other reliable growing media. This exemption will not be time limited. We believe this phased approach will protect the production of edible food stuffs, and the production of specialist trees and other ornamental horticultural products, while preventing the unnecessary extraction of peat both in England and abroad and protecting the livelihoods of those working in the horticultural sector.

Litter

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce litter in (a) Watford constituency and (b) nationally.

Rebecca Pow: Our new Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who litter. This includes significantly raising the upper limit on fixed penalty notices from £150 to £500, and measures to help councils issue more penalties. Our Litter Strategy for England sets out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation. It contains a number of commitments and progress reports are available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england-progress-reports. Since publishing the Litter Strategy, we have published guidance on the provision of litter bins and provided nearly £1 million across 44 councils to help councils purchase new bins. Watford Borough Council were one of the recipients of this grant funding. We have also announced our plans for a Deposit Return Scheme for drinking containers. We estimate that where the rate of return reaches 90% in year 3 of the scheme there will be an equivalent 90% reduction of in-scope containers discarded as litter.

Convention on Biological Diversity

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on Target 14 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Trudy Harrison: The package agreed at COP15, including the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, represents a historic step forward towards addressing the biodiversity crisis. Internationally, the UK has committed in our latest International Development Strategy to taking steps to ensure our bilateral Official Development Assistance becomes ‘nature positive’ in alignment with the Framework. To help drive action by businesses, the UK Government supports the market-led Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) initiative, which is on track to launch a clear, user-friendly risk management and reporting framework on nature-related impacts, dependencies, and risks by September 2023. The TNFD will support the realignment of financial flows towards nature-positive outcomes by integrating biodiversity into economic decision-making. In England, we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; then to reverse declines by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042; and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) published 31 January 2023.

Water Abstraction: Teddington

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of water abstraction plans by Thames Water at Teddington.

Rebecca Pow: Teddington Direct River Abstraction is a water recycling scheme considered in Thames Water’s draft Water Resources Management Plan 2024 (dWRMP24) and Water Resources South East’s (WRSE) Regional Plan as a supply option for 2030/31. The Environment Agency has scrutinised WRSE’s plan and has responded to Thames Water’s dWRMP24. Any scheme developed will have to meet environmental requirements, and where possible enhancements. The scheme will need environmental permits that the Environment Agency regulate, and planning consents where the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee. The scheme is being developed through the ‘Regulators Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Delivery’ (RAPID) gated process and has undergone environmental assessment largely meeting the Regulators’ expectations for Gate 2. Risks have been identified in the Gate 2 submission. There is a risk to scheme feasibility if environmental impacts cannot be mitigated. The Environment Agency has asked Thames Water to undertake further investigations and studies to address these risks by 31 August 2023.

Climate Change: Monitoring

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring quantitative assessments under the adaptation reporting power in the Climate Change Act 2008.

Trudy Harrison: The Government is consulting on proposals for the fourth round of climate adaptation reporting under the Adaptation Reporting Power. This includes consideration of guidance to support reporting organisations and whether to make reporting voluntary or mandatory. The consultation closes on 5th April and can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/climate-change-adaptation-reporting-power-plans-for-the-fourth-round. Consultation feedback will inform the final strategy, to be published alongside the third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) this year.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Boilers: Hydrogen

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to include provisions on hydrogen-ready boilers within the Future Homes Standard.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to include hydrogen-ready boilers for new homes under the Future Homes Standard.

Lee Rowley: From 2025, the Future Homes Standard will mean that new homes use low carbon heating and have very high levels of energy efficiency.We intend to consult on the technical specification of the Future Homes Standard later this year and so further information will be coming forward on the consultation in due course. From a principles perspective, building regulations tend to set performance-based standards over the mandating or banning the use of specific technologies, to enable innovation and tailoring to individual sites.

Council Tax: South East

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what impact assessment his Department (a) undertook or (b) asked local councils to provide before waiving the cap on council tax increases for Slough, Thurrock and Croydon.

Lee Rowley: All decisions were made in line with normal processes, and appropriate impact assessment in line with duties.

Council Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the application of restraint by councils in setting precepts.

Lee Rowley: Council tax levels are for local authorities to decide, taking into account local taxpayers, public sector services and electoral decisions. The Government determines referendum thresholds each year for most types of authority to protect council tax payers from excessive increases. In determining the thresholds the Government takes into account increases set in previous years. Data on the council tax levels set by local authorities for 2023-24 is available here. Data on town and parish precepts will be published in due course.

Social Rented Housing: Domestic Abuse

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that local connection tests do not lead to victims of domestic violence being denied access to housing.

Rachel Maclean: Last year we launched a consultation on regulations relating to LAs applying a local connection test for victims of domestic abuse who apply for social housing.We are currently reviewing the responses.

Homelessness: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of people living in the London Borough of Havering have been homeless in each of the last seven years.

Rachel Maclean: The Department publishes statutory homelessness data for all local authorities in England, including the London Borough of Havering, which can be found here.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral statement by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to the House on 28 March on Afghan Resettlement Update, what proportion of the Local Authority Housing Fund expansion of £250 million will be charged to the development budget.

Rachel Maclean: The £250 million of additional funding for the Local Authority Housing Fund in England is funded from DLUHC departmental budgets.

Temporary Accommodation: Babies

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of cot provision in temporary accommodation.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of children in temporary accommodation.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of placing children in temporary accommodation that is deemed unsuitable on the health outcomes of those children.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department will take to tackle youth homelessness.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the structural causes of youth homelessness.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of expertise available within local authorities in rural areas on providing advice and access to homelessness services.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is clear that local authorities must ensure temporary accommodation is suitable in relation to the applicant and to all members of their household who normally reside with them, or who might reasonably be expected to reside with them. In particular this means that accommodation must be suitable for any minors. Applicants may request a review of the housing authority's decision that the accommodation offered to them is suitable.We have committed to providing over £650 million to councils in England over the next two years through the Homelessness Prevention Grant. This is part of the £2 billion the government is spending to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years, including in rural communities, to tackle youth homelessness and to reduce the number of families in temporary accommodation.In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Housing: Anti-social Behaviour

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to bring into force each of the measures to change the eviction process for anti-social behaviour set out in paragraph 31 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published on 27 March 2023.

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of giving local authorities increased powers to secure the eviction of tenants for reasons of anti-social behaviour when the landlord (a) is unwilling to evict those tenants or (b) cannot be located.

Rachel Maclean: The Action Plan is ensuring orderly behaviour by strengthening powers in the social and private rental sector to evict or sanction tenants who persistently commit anti-social behaviourBoth local authority and housing association landlords have legal powers to evict tenants should anti-social behaviour be identified as an issue.Changes to the eviction process will be brought in through the Renters Reform bill which will be introduced as soon as time allows in this parliament.

Anti-social Behaviour: Crime Prevention

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to her proposals for tackling anti-social behaviour, whether children and young people who perpetrate that behaviour will be placed into diversion programmes.

Rachel Maclean: We are for expanding the eligibility of the Turnaround programme, which will support up to 17,000 children.

Council Housing

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of former council-owned properties that are owned by private landlords seeking to let those properties.

Rachel Maclean: The information requested is not held centrally.

Private Rented Housing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take legislative steps to require landlord licensing for all privately rented properties in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish his response to the consultation entitled A Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector, published on 2 September 2023; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: I refer the Hon. Member to answers given at Oral Parliamentary Questions (Official Report, HC, Volume 730) on 27 March 2023 and to the White Paper, A Fairer Private Rented Sector, published online and available on gov.uk. We are currently analysing the response to the Decent Homes Standard consultation and will respond in due course.

Private Rented Housing: Standards

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the standard of privately rented houses.

Rachel Maclean: The private rented sector (PRS) has some of the worst housing of all tenures with over a fifth of the 4.6 million households that rent privately enduring poor conditions and lacking security and control over the homes they pay to live in. Many renters are forced to live in sub-standard conditions, impacting their physical and mental health.The Levelling Up White Paper set out our ambition to reduce halve the number of non-decent homes by 50% by 2030 with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas, highlighting our commitment to level up the sector and ensure all renters have good quality homes.Everyone has the right to a safe and secure home. That is why we plan to introduce a Decent Homes Standard in the PRS in our upcoming Renters Reform Bill, the first government to ever do so.

Owner Occupation

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to increase the rate of homeownership among people aged 18 to 40.

Rachel Maclean: The Government has a range of home ownership schemes that are available to 18-40 year olds, including First Homes and Shared Ownership. We have doubled the threshold at which SDLT becomes due to £250,000 and expanded First Time Buyers Relief, raising the threshold at which stamp duty becomes payable from £300,000 to £425,000. The Government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme also helps first-time buyers by increasing the supply of 95% loan-to-value mortgages for credit-worthy households.

Lighting: Pollution Control

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that any future planning frameworks minimise light pollution and protect the integrity of skies.

Rachel Maclean: The National Planning Policy Framework is already clear that policies and decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark landscapes and nature conservation. As set out in the December NPPF consultation, this Government will consult on a wider review of the Framework later this year.

Mortgages: Advisory Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the level of compliance of estate agents with the Estate Agents Act 1979 (a) in general and (b) specifically with regards to conditional sales and the use of in-house mortgage advisers.

Rachel Maclean: We continue to work closely with the National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Agency Team who oversee the enforcement of the Estate Agents Act 1979, including issuing of warning and prohibition orders and monitoring of agents' disclosure of referral fees for third-party service providers.

Freehold: Marketing

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many referrals under the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 in relation to freehold marketing particulars been have reported to his Department through the National Trading Standards Team since those Regulations came into force.

Rachel Maclean: The information requested is not held centrally.

Department of Health and Social Care

Vaccination: Equality

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to conduct equality, diversity, and inclusion assessments of (a) vaccine delivery programmes and (b) their impact on health inequalities.

Maria Caulfield: The Department undertakes equality analyses of all policy decisions to assess the impact of these on protected characteristics under the Public Sector Equality Duty and is committed to delivering vaccines to everyone who is eligible. This includes targeted campaigns for communities known to have lower vaccine uptake as well as providing clear and accurate information about vaccine benefits and eligibility, including in braille and multiple languages. General practices (GPs) and provider incentives are also in place to find local solutions and diversification mechanisms are being developed to make getting vaccinated easier for all. The UK Health Security Agency also publish reviews of disparities in vaccine uptake and its relation to other health disparities as part of their Immunisations Inequalities Strategy. It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled, for themselves, their families, and wider society. Anyone unsure about their eligibility or vaccination status should contact their GP for advice.

Marburg Virus: Disease Control

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the health surveillance measures used by his Department to (a) detect cases of Marburg virus disease and (b) prevent people with the disease from entering the UK.

Maria Caulfield: Testing for Marburg virus disease (MVD) is provided by the UK Health Security Agency’s Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) at Porton Down, including out of hours testing. Any clinician who suspects a possible case of MVD, usually based on clinical symptoms and travel history, should contact the Imported Fever Service (IFS). IFS is a 24/7 helpline, provided by specialist clinicians, who will arrange testing at RIPL as required and who will also advise on immediate clinical management and infection control. Details of IFS are available online at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/imported-fever-service-ifsThe risk of people with MVD entering the United Kingdom has been assessed as being very low based on the available epidemiology and geography of cases overseas. A specialist team undertake daily epidemiological global horizon scanning to identify any new and emerging threats, as well as any changes to existing overseas situations. Any change to information about current MVD outbreaks, or new incidents, will trigger a review of these risk assessments and consideration of additional potential public health interventions required.

Antisocial Behaviour: Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that victims of anti-social behaviour have access to mental health support.

Maria Caulfield: We continue to work across Government to support everyone’s mental health. We are expanding and transforming National Health Service mental health services in England through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 so that two million more people, including victims of anti-social behaviour where this has affected their mental health, can get the NHS-funded mental health support that they need. We are sensitive to the mental health needs of victims of anti-social behaviour. Local integrated care systems are responsible for commissioning mental health services that meet the needs of their local communities.

Health Services

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published on 15 March 2023, when his Department will publish the Major Conditions Strategy.

Helen Whately: An interim report of the strategy will be published in the summer.

Carers

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the amount of income care users are allowed to keep after contributing towards their care costs by at least 10.1 per cent in line with inflation.

Helen Whately: The Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) and Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) rates are reviewed annually. To allow people receiving means-tested support to keep more of their own income, both the MIG and PEA will increase in line with CPI inflation at 10.1% for the financial year 2023/24. This uprating aligns with the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement announcement that benefits will be uprated in line with CPI inflation. The revised rates were published in the 2023 Local Authority Circular on 9 February, which can be found at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-care-charging-for-local-authorities-2023-to-2024/social-care-charging-for-care-and-support-local-authority-circular-lacdhsc20231

Hospices: Palliative Care

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) cost and (b) bed-capacity savings from commissioning more palliative care services from hospices; and if he will take steps to ensure that Integrated Care Boards utilise all the available hospice beds in their areas.

Helen Whately: No assessment has been made at a national level. As set out in the Health and Care Act 2022, it is the legal duty of integrated care boards to commission palliative and end of life care to meet the needs of their local populations. NHS England has published statutory guidance to support commissioners with this duty.As such, commissioners are encouraged to consider cost effective commissioning from a range of providers and settings, in order to best meet the needs and preferences of their population. We have made over £400 million available to hospices since 2020 to secure and increase additional National Health Service capacity and enable hospital discharge, ensuring hospices can continue to deliver care to those who need it. More specifically, hospices have been amongst services eligible for funding to support discharge and improve patient flow totalling £200 million, information about which can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/discharge-funding-for-step-down-care-200-million-fund/

Palliative Care

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of adequacy of the delivery of palliative care services required by the Health and Social Care Act 2022; what steps he is taking to monitor the delivery of those services; and if he will take steps to provide regular reports to Parliament on the progress of the delivery of those services.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of NHS funding for hospices that provide commissioned services on behalf of the NHS.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide guidance to integrated care boards on the (a) quantity and (b) quality of palliative care they are required to provide under the Health and Social Care Act 2022.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of ring-fencing funding for palliative care on the uniform provision of palliative care across the country.

Helen Whately: No assessment has been made. While the National Health Service has always been required to commission appropriate palliative and end of life care services to meet the reasonable needs of the population, as part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an integrated care board must commission, to clarify this responsibility.NHS England has actively increased its support to local commissioners to improve the accessibility, quality and sustainability of palliative and end of life care for all. This has included the publication of statutory guidance and service specifications, with further resources available on the FutureNHS Collaboration Platform. The statutory guidance and service specifications can be found at the following links:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/palliative-and-end-of-life-care-statutory-guidance-for-integrated-care-boards-icbs/https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/service-specifications-for-palliative-and-end-of-life-care-children-and-young-people-cyp/In addition, NHS England has funded the establishment of a palliative and end of life care Strategic Clinical Network in every NHS England region, which work closely with local commissioners regarding the development of accessible, high quality and sustainable services.

Health Professions: Nepal

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2023 to Question 166379 on Health Professions: Migrant Workers, if he will make it his policy not to recruit health workers from Nepal.

Will Quince: In August 2022, the Government of Nepal and the Government of the United Kingdom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the managed and ethical recruitment of Nepalese healthcare workers to the UK. This agreement explicitly sets out that any recruitment must adhere to the UK’s codes of practice for the ethical international recruitment of health and social care personnel.The MOU is signed on the basis that the active recruitment of health and care workers from Nepal to the UK will begin with an initial small-scale pilot to recruit up to 100 nurses over a period of 15 months. During the pilot, recruitment activities will be limited to one Trust and its partners. No other UK employer or recruitment agency should carry out active health worker recruitment activities in Nepal. This will mean the UK Government can monitor and ensure that all active recruitment through this MOU is done in accordance with the strongest ethical principles.

Antisocial Behaviour: Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential implications of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published on 27 March 2023, on drug and alcohol misuse (a) addiction and (b) prevention services.

Neil O'Brien: As the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care who has policy responsibility for drug and alcohol treatment services at the Department, I have been engaged with Cabinet colleagues on the development of the Anti-Social Behaviour plan.

General Practitioners: Pharmacy

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to encourage GP's to refer patients to community pharmacies.

Neil O'Brien: Under the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework five-year deal 2019-2024, the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) was introduced in October 2019 and extended to general practices (GPs) in November 2020. Under the CPCS, NHS 111 can refer patients to community pharmacies for urgent medicines supply and advice and treatment for minor illnesses. GPs can refer patients for advice and treatment for minor illnesses. Over two million referrals have been made to the CPCS since its launch. NHS England has provided practice level support to GPs to support implementation of the referral pathway. As of March 2023, 80% of all practices are connected and able to refer with 85% of those already actively referring.In September last year we announced the agreement with the sector for the remainder of the five-year deal, which includes a further one-off investment in the sector of £100 million. Under this agreement, urgent and emergency care settings will shortly be able to refer patients to a community pharmacist for minor illness consultation or for urgent medicine supply.

Electronic Cigarettes: Sales

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health , whether the Government plans to take steps to help tackle the sale of (a) vapes and (b) vaping devices purchased on a on a buy now, pay later basis.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current Government plans to stop the sale of vapes and their devices purchased on a buy now, pay later basis. However, we will keep this under review.

Lung Diseases

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have taken to tackle increases in respiratory health conditions in the context of recent changes to GP contracts.

Neil O'Brien: General Practices (GPs) are required to provide services, termed ‘essential services’, to meet the reasonable needs of their registered and temporary patients. This includes providing consultations, referrals and ongoing treatment and care as necessary and appropriate.Some GP practices may opt into providing additional services over and above this. The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is a voluntary reward and incentive scheme to help improve the quality of care across GPs. This incentivises practices to undertake specific activities in order to improve prevention and long-term condition management, including tackling respiratory health conditions. In the 2023/24 GP contract, nine QOF indicators (16%) will target tackling respiratory health conditions.Vaccination against COVID-19 and flu can also support a reduction in cases of respiratory virus during the winter, both amongst the general public and the healthcare workforce. Over 17.4 million doses of an autumn COVID-19 booster were delivered in England over winter 2022/23 and as of 28 February, more than 21.1 million people in England have had their flu jabs.The vaccine programmes provide necessary protection to those at higher risk of severe illness and are keeping more people out of hospital. The Government encourages all of those who are eligible for vaccinations to come forward.The Department continues to work with tripartite partners to deliver improvements to vaccinations, including acquiring data to allow for timely and targeted action, and to identify and provide advice on reducing disparities in vaccination coverage.The tripartite is committed to improving childhood and adult immunisation programmes, driving maximum uptake, and working hard towards re-gaining the United Kingdom’s measles elimination status, and sustaining our rubella and polio status.

General Practitioners: Management

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College and General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's findings on the level of management expertise in general practice; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: Primary Care Networks (PCNs) receive funding to support dedicated clinical director time, as well as being able to bring management expertise in through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which allows recruitment of Digital and Transformation leads to support the management and transformation of PCNs.Primary care training hubs can direct qualified general practices to local training opportunities, as they do more broadly for all practice and PCN staff.

General Practitioners: ICT

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report on the adequacy of booking systems used in general practice; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made. It is up to individual general practices (GPs) how they manage their own appointment booking systems, to meet the reasonable needs of their registered patients.We recognise that GPs, like other parts of the health system, are under pressure and that demand remains high. We are working to create an additional 50 million GP appointments a year by 2024, by expanding and diversifying the workforce, which should increase capacity.

General Practitioners: Telephone Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of telephony support in general practice.

Neil O'Brien: Cloud-based telephony systems can support practices by offering more phone lines for inbound and outbound calls and automated queuing, as well as providing data about patient demand to help give feedback about current performance and inform practices about the level of administrative support they need for call-handling.NHS England has already offered practices a short-term telephony solution and is accelerating work to support all general practices (GPs) to procure cloud-based telephony systems. The updated GP contract for 2023/24 will also require practices to move to a cloud-based telephony framework when their existing telephony contracts end.

General Practitioners: Repairs and Maintenance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of additional funding for premises upgrades in general practice.

Neil O'Brien: Capital funding for primary care is allocated on a regional basis using a weighted population approach that considers local populations growing annually. From 2022/23, a substantial proportion of primary care business as usual estates and general practice (GP) IT capital is included within integrated care system (ICS) operational capital funding. This allows systems to take a more cohesive approach to capital across all organisations within that system. Additional funding beyond this would be subject to a future Spending Review.Individual decisions around the prioritisation of capital funding for health facilities are largely delegated to local areas or individual GPs. The local ICS would need to identify options and explore what potential there may be for upgraded health facilities. The commissioning body will need to assess any revenue implications and pressures on the overall primary care budget that derive from premises upgrades, and from reimbursing GP contract holders’ premises costs.

General Practitioners

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many practising GPs there were in England each year since 2015; and what the source of this information is.

Neil O'Brien: The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice from September 2015 to September 2022.DateDoctors in general practice, FTESeptember 201534,392September 201635,206September 201734,637September 201834,369September 201934,729September 202035,393September 202136,495September 202237,026 Source: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-and-personal-medical-services/28-february-2023NotesData includes estimates for practices that did not provide fully valid staff records.Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) refers to the proportion of full time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. 1 would indicate they work a full set of hours (37.5), 0.5 that they worked half time. In GPs in Training Grade contracts 1 FTE = 40 hours and in this table these FTEs have been converted to the standard wMDS measure of 1 FTE = 37.5 hours for consistency.Figures shown do not include staff working in Prisons, Army Bases, Educational Establishments, Specialist Care Centres including Drug Rehabilitation Centres, Walk-In Centres and other alternative settings outside of traditional general practice such as urgent treatment centres and minor injury units.It is not recommended that comparisons be made between quarterly or monthly figures (e.g. Mar 16 to Sept 16) due to the unknown effect of seasonality on workforce numbers. As data in 2015 was only available for September, this month has been used to provide the FTE figure for each subsequent year.Figures from the first three collections (September 2015, March 2016 and September 2016) should be treated with caution as the data submission rates from practices were appreciably lower than for subsequent reporting periods. This means that the reported figures for the early years of the collection may be lower than the true picture. In September 2015, which was the first extract from the new Workforce Minimum Data Set, only three of four Health Education England (HEE) regions submitted data. Consequently, September 2015 figures should be treated with additional caution.From June 2018 onwards, the data source for GPs in Training Grade (foundation and specialty registrar trainees on placements in General Practice) changed to the HEE Trainee Information System (TIS). To ensure comparability across the national time series, data from both old and new sources was used to calculate estimates for previously uncounted GPs in Training Grade back to September 2015. Prior to TIS, the sources for the GP registrar data were the main General Practice Workforce data collection and an additional extract of medical trainees delivering primary care services who were paid through ESR. In GPs in Training Grade contracts 1 FTE = 40 hours, however to ensure consistency in this table these FTEs have been converted to the standard wMDS measure of 1 FTE = 37.5 hours.

General Practitioners: Closures

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners' report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published March 2023, what assessment he has made for the implication for his policies of the 65 per cent of staff who said their practice was at risk of closing over the next few months.

Neil O'Brien: The closure of a general practice (GP) surgery is an issue that is considered and decided upon by local commissioners following an application from a GP provider. It is for local commissioners to determine what services and care pathways to put in place to best serve the needs of their patient population.We remain committed to growing the GP workforce and are working with NHS England to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave and encourage them to return. We are investing at least £1.5 billion to create an additional 50 million GP appointments by 2024 by increasing and diversifying the workforce.

General Practitioners: Labour Turnover

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Royal College of General Practitioners entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what plans his Department has to support GP retention schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: We are working with NHS England to increase the general practice (GP) workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave and encourage them to return to practice.NHS England has made available a number of recruitment and retention schemes to boost the GP workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, and the Supporting Mentors Scheme.

General Practitioners: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Royal College of General Practitioners entitled Fit for the Future: GP Pressures Report 2023, published March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report that (a) 57% of general practice staff said they have not accessed winter support and funding due to a lack of flexibility on how the funding can be used and (b) 35% of general practice staff said they have not accessed winter support and funding because the application process is too lengthy or difficult; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made.In Autumn 2021, the Government and NHS England published a package of measures, and made £250 million available for a Winter Access Fund to support general practices (GPs) and increase capacity. Examples of how the Winter Access Fund was used included additional hubs and helplines, expanding home visiting capacity, and funding additional sessions from staff.In Autumn 2022, we relaxed funding rules to give Primary Care Networks greater freedom to recruit new roles such as GP Assistants and Digital Transformation Leads, to bolster GP teams, free up clinical time and reduce the administrative burden on GPs.

Genito-urinary Medicine: Clinics

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide additional (a) funding and (b) guidance to sexual health clinics for preparing for future outbreaks.

Neil O'Brien: Sexual health services (SHS) are funded through the public health grant. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, including the need for sexual health services taking account of their statutory duties.The UK Health Security Agency has published guidance designed to help healthcare providers, including sexual health clinics, to manage sexually transmitted infection (STI) outbreaks. This guidance provides advice on how to detect, investigate and control outbreaks of STIs, and is available at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/sexually-transmitted-infections-stis-managing-outbreaksIn March 2023 the Department published an integrated SHS service specification for use by local authorities, which describes the role of sexual health services in managing outbreaks and is available at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-services-non-mandatory-contracts-and-guidance-published

General Practitioners: ICT

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of providing additional funding for IT upgrades in general practice.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners' report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what plans his Department has to support general practices improve their booking and IT systems.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help GP practices invest in new IT systems.

Neil O'Brien: The General Practice Forward View, published in 2016, set out our ambition to increase digital use and investment in general practices (GPs), and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/general-practice-forward-view-gpfv/ This was followed by the NHS Long Term Plan and A Plan for Digital Health and Social Care, which both include actions to drive digital and technology transformation in GPs to deliver efficient services and improve patient care and access. NHS England ensures that modern, integrated, secure and user-friendly digital systems are available through the GP IT Operating Model, the Digital Care Services catalogue and the GP IT Futures frameworks. This work supports ongoing improvements to procurement processes, a greater choice of nationally accredited digital suppliers and products that meet core standards, requirements and capabilities to ensure GP IT systems continually evolve and advance with minimal impact and disruption to care.

Doctors: Labour Turnover

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential number of GPs who will leave the profession within the next five years due to (a) stress, (b) other mental health conditions and (c) other factors other than retirement.

Neil O'Brien: The Department does not hold the data requested.

General Practitioners: Administration

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing for additional administrative resources in general practice.

Neil O'Brien: We remain committed to growing and diversifying the general practice (GP) workforce. Through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) Primary Care Networks (PCNs) have recruited a wide variety of roles including those that can perform administrative duties such as GP assistants and Digital and Transformation leads.In addition to the administrative resource recruited through the ARRS, PCNs receive funding to support their ongoing development and operations and Health Education England have developed a competency framework for care navigators to encourage a coherent approach to providing care navigation.

General Practitioners: Staff

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing for additional clinical staff in general practice.

Neil O'Brien: We remain committed to growing and diversifying the general practice (GP) workforce. Through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), Primary Care Networks have recruited over 23,000 additional staff including pharmacists, physiotherapists, and social prescribing link workers. These roles provide appointments and perform clinical and administrative tasks as part of the wider GP multi-disciplinary team.The ARRS has expanded the number of roles that can be recruited, with Advanced Practice Nurses becoming reimbursable through the scheme from 1 April 2023.NHS England committed to a review of the ARRS by the end of 2023. This work will cover the performance of the scheme to date and inform the Government’s approach to any future support for additional clinical roles in GPs.

Health Services: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the flexibility of primary care network funding streams.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, whether he plans to reform primary care network funding streams; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: In January 2019, the Government, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the general practitioners committee of the British Medical Association agreed to the most ambitious general practice (GP) contract in recent years, which included funding for Primary Care Networks (PCNs). The resulting five-year framework for GP contract reform implements the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan and is underpinned by a record level of additional investment in primary medical and community care (an extra £4.5 billion by 2023/24). This was updated in 2020 to invest at least an extra £1.5 billion to increase and diversify the GP workforce. The multi-year GP Contract provides funding clarity and certainty to practices until 2023/24. The current framework ends in April 2024. Future funding arrangements for general practice will be considered in due course.In the near-term, announced changes to the GP contract for 2023/2024 allow PCNs the flexibility to recruit more advanced practitioners, including advanced practice nurses, more mental health practitioners, and a new physician associate apprentice role through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). These changes give a wider range of roles to recruit from and therefore more flexibility for PCNs in how they use their allocated ARRS funding. NHS England are also conducting a review of the scheme which will report before the end of 2023. It will consider the scheme’s performance and feedback from stakeholders.

General Practitioners: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for general practices to meet changes in the level of patient demand.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of a flexible funding plan for general practice to deal with surges in demand.

Neil O'Brien: In January 2019, the Government, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the general practitioners committee of the British Medical Association agreed to the most ambitious general practice (GP) contract in recent years. The resulting five-year framework for GP contract reform implements the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan and is underpinned by a record level of additional investment in primary medical and community care (an extra £4.5 billion by 2023/24). This was updated in 2020 to invest at least an extra £1.5 billion to increase and diversify the general practice workforce.The global sum allocation formula which underpins capitation payments to GPs is designed to ensure that resources are directed to practices based on an estimate of their expected patient demand and unavoidable practice costs. Under this formula, practices whose registered patients have greater healthcare needs are paid more per patient than practices whose registered patients have fewer healthcare needs. The National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including GPs, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes.The multi-year GP Contract provides funding clarity and certainty to practices until 2023/24. The current framework ends in April 2024. Future funding arrangements for GPs will be considered in due course.No specific assessments have been made, however, in October 2021, the Government and NHS England published a package of measures, and made £250 million available for a Winter Access Fund to support practices and increase capacity. Examples of how the Winter Access Fund was used included additional hubs and helplines, expanding home visiting capacity, and funding additional sessions from staff.

Dental Services: Norfolk

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of NHS dentistry services for children in (a) Norwich North constituency and (b) Norfolk.

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, If he will make an estimate of the number of children who have seen a (a) dentist and (b) hygienist in Norwich in the last (i) six and (ii) 12 months.

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of NHS appointments for children's dentistry in (a) Norwich and (b) Norfolk; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities are able to access NHS dentistry in (a) Norwich and (b) Norfolk.

Neil O'Brien: In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’ which sets out how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to National Health Service dental services for patients of all ages, whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices. These changes have been implemented, including through regulations that came into effect on 25 November 2022. NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for plans for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System coming shortly. In circumstances where a guardian or parents are unable to access an urgent dental appointment for their child directly through a NHS dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance. Information on the number of children who have seen a dentist or hygienist in Norwich in the last six or 12 months is not available. Dental Statistics, published by NHS Digital, provides information on NHS dental activity in England and is available from the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics/2021-22-annual-reportThe table below shows that the proportion of children in Norfolk County Council who have seen an NHS dentist in the last 12 months (to June 2022) is almost 10% lower than the national average. Published data is not available for Norwich.June 2021 - June 2022Number of Children who have visited an NHS dentistProportion of child population (%)Norfolk County Council62,86736.5%England5,589,20146.1% NHS England commissions community dental services to offer dental care to vulnerable patients, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, who cannot be treated in a general NHS dental practice or may be in locations that cannot access NHS dental services.

General Practitioners: Administration

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce unnecessary administrative tasks required of GPs.

Neil O'Brien: As part of the 2020/21 general practice (GP) contract, to reduce administrative tasks and to help maximise the time available for care, the Government committed to a thorough review of levels of bureaucracy in GPs. As part of this work, in August 2022, a cross-Government concordat was published agreeing to seven co-designed principles to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy in GPs. The Department is continuing to work across Government and with the National Health Service to implement the solutions that emerge.

Haemophilia

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 143812, what specific data is collected by the Haemophilia Service Dashboard on (a) quality of life and (b) long-term outcome measures; and in what way NHS England plans to incorporate that information and additional information required for new innovations such as gene therapies when they become available.

Neil O'Brien: The Haemophilia Service Dashboard does not collect data specific to quality of life or long-term outcome measures. NHS England will assess the relevance of existing outcomes reported on the Haemophilia Service Dashboard to gene therapies once they have been licensed and recommended for use by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Lung Diseases: Screening

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the health benefits of introducing a national lung screening programme.

Neil O'Brien: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) undertook a review of the evidence relating to the clinical effectiveness of screening for lung cancer in adults with a history of tobacco smoking. This found high quality evidence that screening in this group identified lung cancer earlier and significantly reduced deaths from lung cancer.Following a public consultation, the UK NSC recommended that lung cancer screening should be implemented in the United Kingdom. The Department is currently considering the recommendation from the UK NSC with NHS England.

Nitrous Oxide: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to provide addiction support for nitrous oxide users.

Neil O'Brien: To support the aims of its 10-year drug strategy, the Government is providing £532 million of additional funding to local authorities to increase provision and to improve the quality of substance misuse services.Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug treatment services to meet the needs of their population, this includes any treatment that may be required for nitrous oxide.

Viral Diseases: Blood

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand the opt out testing for blood borne viruses in emergency departments in areas of high prevalence.

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to expand opt out testing for blood borne viruses in emergency departments in high prevalence areas.

Neil O'Brien: We are considering all the evidence from the first year of opt-out HIV and blood borne testing in emergency departments, alongside the data on progress towards our ambitions to end new HIV transmissions and AIDS- and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030, when examining the feasibility for further expansion of this programme. We will be sharing evidence as it emerges to support other areas of the country to make the case for implementing the same approach locally.

Viral Diseases: Blood

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the key emerging data is from the emergency department opt out testing for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C; and how that data will inform the future development of the scheme.

Neil O'Brien: In the first 100 days of opt out testing over 250,000 HIV tests and over 100,000 hepatitis C virus antibody tests were delivered from April to July 2022. This testing resulted in identification of more than 500 people with a previously unknown (unrecognised or undiagnosed) blood borne virus. The full report can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/emergency-department-opt-out-testing-for-hiv-hepatitis-b-and-hepatitis-c-the-first-100-days/NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency will publish reports evaluating the impact of the first year of opt-out HIV and blood borne virus testing in 2023. We will consider all the evidence from the first year of opt-out testing alongside the data on progress towards our ambitions to end new HIV transmissions and AIDS- and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030 when examining the feasibility for further expansion of this programme.We will be sharing evidence as it emerges to support other areas to make the case locally for implementing the same approach in other areas of the country.

Prescriptions

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of prescriptions in England were issued to (a) men and (b) women.

Neil O'Brien: The proportion of prescriptions in England in 2022 issued to men and women is displayed in the table below.GenderItems DispensedProportion (%)Female628,562,49354.02%Male501,247,03043.08%Unknown33,634,0152.89%Indeterminate29,6830.00%Source: NHS Business Services Authority Information Services Data Warehouse“Unknown” is where no data is held. “Indeterminate” is where the data held does not confirm male or female.Proportions have been rounded to two decimal places and may not total 100%.

Electronic Cigarettes

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Khan review: making smoking obsolete, published on 9 June 2022, whether his Department's response to that review will set out measures to (a) strengthen enforcement of vaping regulation and (b) stop the import and sale of vaping products that do not comply with the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.

Neil O'Brien: In order to support proposals set out in the Khan review, it is essential that consumers have access to high quality products while reducing the supply of non-compliant and smuggled goods entering through illegal channels. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently working closely with a number of regulatory and enforcement agencies, providing product and manufacturer information to assist in both strategic planning and direct enforcement of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. In addition to this, the MHRA is supporting the work of regulatory stakeholders across a range of related vaping and general legislation for the purposes of compliance and law enforcement.

General Practitioners

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP surgery appointments were for (a) men and (b) women in England in the 2021-22 financial year.

Neil O'Brien: This data is not available in the format requested.

Supply Chain Coordination: Protective Clothing

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish details of the contract agreed for the purchase of Single Use Theatre Protective Clothing by Collaborative Procurement Partnership LLP (CPP LLP) acting on behalf of Supply Chain Coordination Ltd (SCCL), which was valued at £1,774,730,734.19 and awarded on 1 April 2020.

Will Quince: This order for Single Use Theatre Protective Clothing was placed by Collaborative Procurement Partnership LLP, acting on behalf of Supply Chain Coordination Ltd (SCCL), using an existing SCCL framework agreement and the associated terms and conditions, so no new contracts were put in place.

Dental Services: Norfolk

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of orthodontic appointments for children in Norwich.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population. Many of the dentistry commissioning functions undertaken by NHS England will transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023. ICBs will be responsible for meeting the needs of their local populations of all ages, working with patient groups. NHS England has made available to commissioners an Assurance Framework to provide assurances on commissioning.In circumstances where a person or parents are unable to access an urgent dental appointment for their child directly through a National Health Service dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance.

General Practitioners: Staff

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 8 of the Royal College of General Practitioners' report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding that 95 per cent of general practice staff said that additional clinical staff over winter would help them deliver the care that patients need.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England committed to a review of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme by the end of 2023, with this work covering the performance of the scheme to date and informing the Government’s approach to any future support for additional clinical roles in general practice.

General Practitioners: Conditions of Employment

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Royal College of General Practitioners entitled Fit for the Future: GP Pressures Report 2023, published March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report on the pressures on general practice staff.

Neil O'Brien: We recognise the pressures that general practice (GP) staff are under. We have made several changes to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy for GPs to free up time for appointments, including expanding the range of healthcare professionals who can sign fit notes and publishing the ‘Bureaucracy busting concordat: principles to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and administrative burdens on general practice’.The expanded primary care teams funded through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme will add extra clinical capacity.We continue to work with the National Health Service to understand how we can help GPs and improve their working environment.

Health Services: Men

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled £25 million for women's health hub expansion, published on 8 March 2023, whether he plans to allocate new funding to men's health hubs.

Maria Caulfield: There are currently no plans to do so.

NHS: Strikes

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government and health unions agree pay deal paving way for an end to strike action, dated 16 March 2023, whether that offer if accepted would result in Barnett consequential payments.

Will Quince: The devolved administrations will receive Barnett consequentials on any new money in the usual way. HM Treasury will work with the devolved administrations throughout the year and final adjustments to budgets will be confirmed as part of the Supplementary Estimates process.

NHS: Staff

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the merger of NHS England and Health Education England on the NHS neurology workforce; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: No assessment of the impact of the merger of Health Education England with NHS England on the National Health Service neurology workforce has been undertaken.

NHS: Staff

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of consultants and other NHS workers who will return to work as a result of the removal of the pensions lifetime allowance.

Will Quince: The decision to retire is a personal one and it is not possible to assess the impact of a specific factor. Estimates based on projected pension scheme data indicate that around 22,000 senior National Health Service clinicians could exceed the previous £40,000 annual allowance in 2023/24, and that around 31,000 clinicians had reached at least 75% of the £1.073 million lifetime allowance.Around 3,000 general practitioners (GPs) and hospital doctors retire each year and around 40% of GPs and 17% of hospital doctors take voluntary early retirement. In 2020/21, there were 1,615 lifetime allowance charges paid over to HM Revenue & Customs in respect of NHS pensions claimed. It is not possible to break down this data by occupation.The chair of the British Medical Association’s Pension Committee said that removing the lifetime allowance will be potentially transformative for the NHS. The changes announced at Budget will ensure that the vast majority of doctors in the NHS are not disincentivised from remaining in roles and taking on extra hours, as pension tax is no longer a trigger event for retirement.From 1 April 2023, NHS Pension Scheme members who have put their 1995 Section benefits into payment can re-join the scheme and build further pension if they return to work.

NHS: Strikes

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government and health unions agree pay deal paving way for an end to strike action, dated 16 March 2023, what source of funding his Department plans to use to fund that pay offer.

Will Quince: The Department and HM Treasury are working together to ensure the Department has the money it needs to fund the pay offer. The offer will be funded through a combination of new money for the Department and reprioritising existing budgets. There will be no impact to frontline services or the quality of care.

Government Departments: Social Media

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish a response to the report by the Information Commissioner entitled Behind the screens: Maintaining government transparency and data security in the age of messaging apps, published in July 2022.

Will Quince: The Department has co-operated fully with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and has responded to the ICO with updates on the recommendations for the Department set out in the report.

Protective Clothing: Recycling

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS has sent trucks of Personal Protective Equipment to the Mitcham Waste Transfer Station for shredding.

Will Quince: The Department has used the waste transfer facility at Mitcham in the last four months for several functions, including shredding, recycling and generating energy from waste.

Hospital Beds

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of hospital bed days were allocated to (a) men and (b) women in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.

Will Quince: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Cardiovascular Diseases: Mortality Rates

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of life expectancy with cardiovascular diseases between the UK’s most and least deprived communities.

Neil O'Brien: Official estimates of life expectancy for people with cardiovascular diseases are not currently available.

Consultants: Expenditure

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on external consultants by (a) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, (b) the UK Health Security Agency, (c) NHS England, and (d) NHS Digital in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022; and whether any of that spending related to the preparation of funding bids to (A) his Department and (B) HM Treasury.

Will Quince: Suggested replyThe following table shows the expenditure on consultancy on external consultants in the financial years 2019/20 to 2021/22. Expenditure values for 2022/23 are not yet available. The Department does not hold the detail behind the expenditure.OrganisationExpenditure on consultancy (£ million)2019/202020/212021/22Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) 0.3 0.8 6.4UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)Not applicableNot applicable10.0NHS England - Group45.851.675.8NHS Digital1.40.90.3 Note:The definition for consultancy is in line with HM Treasury GuidanceThe Office for National Statistics re-categorised MHRA as falling within the Departmental Group from April 2022. In years 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 this body was not incorporated into the Department’s accounting boundary and, therefore, the Department does not hold requested data.UKHSA was formed in April 2021 and became fully operational in October 2021.Source:UK Health Security Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22.NHS Commissioning Board Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22. Expenditure for the NHSE Group including Commissioning Support Units and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).NHS Digital Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Department for Education

Children: Swimming

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2023 to Question 161361 on Children: Swimming, what proportion of Year 6 pupils in London met the three swimming and water safety National Curriculum expectations in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect data on the percentage of pupils in Year 6 in London who met each of the three swimming and water safety National Curriculum expectations.

Childcare: Fees and Charges

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take to steps to extend 30 free hours of childcare for one and two year-olds to working parents who individually earn more than £100,000.

Claire Coutinho: The government is removing one of the biggest barriers to parents working by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that working families can access by expanding the 30 hours free childcare offer to children from the age of 9 months to when they start school.To be eligible for this offer, as with the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum/living wage and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £8,670 (from April), but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year, will be eligible. The government is not currently planning to increase the income threshold per parent for this offer.£100,000 is the level at which the personal allowance starts to be withdrawn for individuals. Ceasing eligibility at a known threshold is designed to be easily understandable for parents and is simple to check. For families with two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria. It is therefore reasonable that the income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis.The department estimates that approximately 2% of parents of children aged 3 to 4 had earnings above the £100,000 adjusted net income maximum threshold in the 2019/20 financial year.The eligibility criteria were debated in Parliament and are set out in legislation. The maximum income limit applies to both Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare, which allows parents to apply for both schemes through the common online Childcare Service.There is a universal offer that remains in place, with 15 hours of free early education available for all parents of 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances, which helps children to prepare for school. The majority of the existing and new offers have a £100,000 earnings cap to ensure that funding is targeted to those parents who need it to balance the demands of work and raising children.Full details on the eligibility criteria are set out in the regulations, which can be found here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1257/pdfs/uksi_20161257_en.pdf.

Alternative Education and Special Educational Needs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2nd March 2023, when her Department plans to introduce local SEND and alternative provision partnerships.

Claire Coutinho: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Change Programme’s Regional Expert Partners will support areas to design and test local area partnerships from spring 2023. Non-statutory guidance will be published in autumn 2023, outlining the full detail of the expectations for local SEND and AP partnerships, including clear roles and responsibilities for the partnership collectively and the partners individually.

Alternative Education and Special Educational Needs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan Right Support, Right Place, Right Time, published on 2 March 2023, when her Department plans to publish guidance to support effective transitions between all stages of education.

Claire Coutinho: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, outlines the government’s mission to establish a single, national SEND and AP system. The plan can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan/send-and-alternative-provision-roadmap.Alongside this, the department published a roadmap which summarises the actions set out in the Improvement Plan to improve the SEND and AP system in England. The roadmap can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan/send-and-alternative-provision-roadmap.As part of this roadmap, the department is committed to publishing guidance to support effective transitions between all stages of education, and into employment and adult services, by the end of 2025.

Children: Disability

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2nd March 2023, when her Department plans to review social care legislation relating to disabled children.

Claire Coutinho: The department has accepted the recommendation of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care for the Law Commission to review children's social care legislation for disabled children. We recognise that the current legal framework can make it difficult for families to understand what they are entitled to. We are in preliminary discussions with the Law Commission about the parameters and timing of such a review, and we will work with the Law Commission to conclude the review as soon as practicable.

Alternative Education and Special Educational Needs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan published on 2 March 2023, how often the National SEND and Alternative Provision Implementation Board will publish updates on progress in delivery against this Plan for children, young people and parents.

Claire Coutinho: The department will set out further details in due course on when the National Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Implementation Board will publish updates on progress in delivery against the SEND and AP Plan for children, young people and parents.

Special Educational Needs: Staff

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on that Department's approach to SEND workforce planning.

Claire Coutinho: The department recognise that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) frequently require access to additional support from a broad specialist workforce across education, health and care. Ministers have regular discussions on cross-government policy issues, such as the commitments set out in the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan. The Improvement Plan, which was published on 2 March 2023, was jointly signed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State of Health and Social Care, and set out that both departments will work together to take a joint approach to SEND workforce planning. We will establish a steering group in 2023 to oversee this work, which will feed into the National SEND and AP Implementation Board. The Board will be jointly chaired by Education and Health ministers.

Special Educational Needs: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children with special educational needs in Enfield have adequate levels of support.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, what steps her Department plans to take to support the London Borough of Enfield through the Delivering Better Value and the Safety Valve programmes.

Claire Coutinho: ​​The department is committed to ensuring that all children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to realise their potential.High needs funding to support children and young people with complex SEND is rising to £10.1 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, which is an increase of over 50% compared to 2019/20. Of this, Enfield Council’s high needs funding allocation for 2023/24 will be £76 million, an 11.5% per head increase compared to the amount of high needs funding allocated in the 2022/23 financial year.The department is also currently working with Enfield Council as part of the Delivering Better Value in SEND programme, which aims to support up to 55 local authorities, and their partners, to improve the delivery of SEND services for children and young people, while functioning sustainably.Enfield Council is currently engaged in Phase One of the programme, which focuses root cause diagnostics to identify the highest impact changes that can be made to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND, and improve financial sustainability for local authorities.Following the Phase One diagnostics, the local authority will create a plan to deliver improvements across their local systems and following a successful grant application, will receive funding from the department. This funding will assist with implementation and ongoing support as they move into Phase Two of the programme.

Special Educational Needs: Pre-school Education

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of students with special educational needs that are attending the most appropriate early years setting for their needs.

Claire Coutinho: The department recognises that high-quality childcare supports children’s development and prepares younger children for school. It also gives parents the ability to balance work and family life.As announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, the department is removing one of the biggest barriers to parents working by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that working families can access.From April 2024, working parents of two-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks a year), from September 2024 this will be extended to parents of nine month to three-year-olds, and from September 2025 working parents of nine month to three-year-olds will be able to access 30 free hours per week (38 weeks a year). Information on the current childcare offer can be found at: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.Local authorities have a statutory duty under section 7 of the Childcare Act 2006 to secure early education places free of charge for all eligible children. It is for parents and carers to choose a childcare provider that best meets their child’s needs.The ‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age’ publication identifies that in 2022, there were 84,539 three and four-year-olds with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) registered for the 15-hour entitlement, which equates to 7% of the registered 15-hour entitlement population for this age group. There were 11,590 three and four-year-olds with SEND registered for the entitlement 30-hour entitlement (3.3% of the registered 30-hour entitlement population for this age group), and 5,496 two-year-olds with SEND were registered for the 15-hour entitlement in 2022 (4.1% of the registered 15-hour entitlement population for this age group). This information can found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5.The SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, sets out how an effective single national SEND and AP system will be delivered. The plan can found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1139561/SEND_and_alternative_provision_improvement_plan.pdf. Many of the proposals in the Improvement Plan will include early years education, including the funding the department is providing to train up to 5,000 early years Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators (SENCOs) to gain an accredited Level 3 Early Years SENCO qualification.

Special Educational Needs: Inspections

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, when updated Ofsted and CQC Area SEND inspections will be delivered in 2023.

Claire Coutinho: Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) joint area special educational needs and disabilities inspections activity, commenced in January 2023 and will continue on a continuous cycle in line with their published framework and handbook.Ofsted and CQC intend that every local area will receive their first full inspection under the new framework within five years. Some areas might receive a second inspection and/or monitoring visit within that timeframe, depending on their first inspection outcome. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.These inspections will place greater emphasis on the outcomes that are being achieved for children and young people and look more closely at children under five and those aged 16-25 years old. They will also include alternative provision (AP) for the first time. The first inspection reports are expected to be published in spring 2023.Ofsted and CQC will also undertake a series of thematic visits, with the first set focusing on AP. The outcome is expected to be published in autumn 2023. The guidance for thematic reviews of AP in local areas is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thematic-reviews-of-alternative-provision-in-local-areas.

Special Educational Needs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, when her Department plans to roll out the new standardised education health and care plans.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, if she will list the stakeholders who will be consulted on the new standardised education health and care plans.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure parents are supported to (a) understand and (b) contribute to the new education health care plans.

Claire Coutinho: The proposal to standardise education, health and care (EHC) plans set out in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) green paper was broadly popular, and the department has committed to delivering standardised EHC plans by 2025.Children, young people and their families must be at the heart of these reforms. The department has already sought views from children and young people, sector experts and practitioners on the principles of a standardised EHC plan template, working with the Council for Disabled Children.The department will continue to work in partnership with local authorities, professionals and others who use the SEND and AP system so that we hear as many views as possible on standardised templates and understand user needs. We will consider how to support all users, particularly children, young people and families, so that they benefit fully from the improvements.

Alternative Education and Special Educational Needs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, what estimate she has made of when the National Special Educational Needs and Alternative Provision Standards will be published.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, whether she plans to provide additional funding to support services to deliver the National Special Educational Needs and Alternative Provision Standards.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, what steps she plans to take to monitor the implementation of the National Special Educational Needs and Alternative Provision Standards.

Claire Coutinho: In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, the department set out the mission for more children and young people to have their needs met effectively in mainstream settings, reducing reliance on education, health and care plans to access support.We will improve mainstream education through setting standards for early and accurate identification of need, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will include clarifying the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings, who is responsible for securing the support, and from what budgets. This will give parents confidence and clarity on how their child’s needs will be met.The department wants to ensure National Standards are evidence-based, deliverable, and support financial sustainability. We will test our work with a wide range of stakeholders across education, health, and social care, including to consider the resources required to deliver the National Standards.The department will embed development of standards in our £70 million Change Programme to ensure the standards can be tested, iterated, and set up for success. We will publish a significant proportion of the National Standards by the end of 2025.

Special Educational Needs: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff were employed to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in the London Borough of Enfield in each year since 2010 for which records are available.

Claire Coutinho: The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers.Alongside excellent teachers, teaching assistants play an important role supporting pupils with SEND to fulfil their potential in mainstream and special schools.Information on the school workforce in England is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

Special Educational Needs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, how the new standardised EHCP process will support parents who do not speak English as their first language.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan published on 2 March 2023, how the new standardised EHCP process will support people who do not have access to digital technologies.

Claire Coutinho: The proposals to introduce a standardised education, health and care (EHC) plan template and digitise the associated processes, set out in the Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, committed to delivering standardised EHC plans by 2025 and to continue work on developing digital requirements.The department will work in partnership with those who use the SEND system, including parents, carers, children and young people, local authorities, to hear as many views as possible. We will also ensure that accessibility for all groups is considered, including those who do not speak English as their first language.For the proposals regarding digital EHC plan systems, this will also include considering access to technology.

Alternative Education: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan published on 2 March 2023, what the new approaches to funding alternative provisions will be.

Claire Coutinho: The department will work with the sector to develop new approaches to funding alternative provision, to ensure any new approaches are inclusive, sustainable, and effective. This includes plans to design and test reforms, through our Change Programme, to inform future choices about delivery and put the system on a more efficient and financially sustainable footing.

Teachers

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to increase teacher (a) recruitment and (b) retention.

Nick Gibb: As at the last school workforce census (November 2021, published in June 2022), the number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 full time equivalent teachers working in state funded schools across the country. This is over 24,000 more than in 2010.The Department’s reforms are aimed at increasing teacher recruitment and at ensuring teachers across England stay and thrive in the profession. The Department announced a £181 million financial incentives package for those starting initial teacher training in the 2023/24 academic year. The Department is providing bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 to encourage trainees to apply to train in key secondary subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing. The Department has expanded the offer to international trainees in physics and languages.Additionally, the Department provides a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools nationally, including within Education Investment Areas.The Department has recently raised starting salaries outside London by 8.9% to £28,000 and remains committed to the Government’s ambition of delivering £30,000 starting salaries to attract talented people to teaching.To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the Department has rolled out the Early Career Framework nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching. This is backed by over £130 million a year in funding.The Department has also launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications for teachers and headteachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.The Department has published a range of resources to help address staff workload and wellbeing. This includes the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which the Department is encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. The Department has also published the workload reduction toolkit, developed alongside headteachers to help reduce workload, and resources to support schools to implement effective flexible working practices.

Schools: Buildings

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in England have been built using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC); and what steps she is taking to test the structural integrity of those buildings.

Nick Gibb: The Department is in the process of gathering information from responsible bodies of all schools, asking them to complete a questionnaire on the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their premises.The Department published updated guidance on RAAC in December 2022 and has appointed three leading structural surveying firms to investigate all cases of suspected RAAC. The Department is supporting responsible bodies to undertake this and their consultant structural engineers with assessing and managing RAAC in their estates. Where RAAC is confirmed, the Department helps access appropriate support through existing departmental programmes.

Religion: Education

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that recruitment targets for religious education teachers are met.

Nick Gibb: As at the last school workforce census (November 2021, published in June 2022), the number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 full time equivalent teachers working in state funded schools across the country.In the 2020/21 academic year the Department exceeded the postgraduate initial teacher training target for religious education (RE). 129% of the target was achieved (660 new entrants recruited), whilst in the 2021/22 academic year performance against the target fell to 94% (442 new entrants recruited) and in 2022/23, 76% of the target was achieved (341 new trainees) in RE.The Department is concentrating funding in attracting the best teachers where they are needed the most, through its teaching marketing campaign, support services for prospective trainees, and competitive starting salary.To make it easier for people to become teachers, the Department has launched its new digital service, ‘Apply for teacher training’, enabling a more streamlined, user-friendly application route.The Teaching marketing campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs people to the ‘Get Into Teaching’ service. Through a new website, prospective trainees can access support and advice through expert one to one Teacher Training Advisers, a contact centre and a national programme of events.The Department has recently raised starting salaries outside London by 8.9% to £28,000 and remains committed to the Government’s ambition of delivering £30,000 starting salaries to attract people to teaching.The Department is delivering 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by the end of 2024, giving all teachers and headteachers access to world-class, evidence-based training and professional development at every stage of their career.The Department’s reforms are aimed at increasing teacher recruitment and at ensuring teachers across England stay and thrive in the profession in all subjects, including RE.To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the Department has rolled out the Early Career Framework nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching. This is backed by over £130 million a year in funding.The Department has also launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications for teachers and headteachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.The Department has published a range of resources to help address staff workload and wellbeing. This includes the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which the Department is encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. The Department has also published the workload reduction toolkit, developed alongside headteachers to help reduce workload, and resources to support schools to implement effective flexible working practices.

Schools: Curriculum

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote awareness of the (a) Commonwealth of Nations, (b) Monarchy and (c) Commonwealth realms in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: Topics relating to the Commonwealth and the Monarchy are covered within the citizenship curriculum. Citizenship is compulsory for maintained secondary schools, and all primary and secondary schools are encouraged to teach it as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.Programmes of study for citizenship at Key Stages 3 and 4 include content on local, regional and international governance, and the UK’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider world. They also cover the development of the political system of democratic government in the UK, including the roles of citizens, Parliament and the Monarch.Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship. They are encouraged to follow the non-statutory framework for citizenship which includes opportunities for pupils to discuss topics of school, local, national, European, Commonwealth and global concern.There is also scope within the history programmes of study for pupils to be taught about these topics, across Key Stages 1 to 3.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has a target for reducing the number of pupils who are severely absent from school.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the safeguarding of children who are severely absent from school.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of how many children are at increased risk of domestic abuse as a result of being severely absent from school.

Nick Gibb: Regular school attendance is vital for pupils’ educational attainment, wellbeing, and wider development. For those pupils most at risk of harm, it is also an important safeguarding factor.Most absence from school is accounted for by illness. Pupils who miss more than 50% of possible school sessions in a school year are considered to be severely absent. In the 2021/22 academic year, the severe absence rate was 1.7%.As part of the drive to improve school attendance, the Department published the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance last year, which makes clear the importance of addressing the barriers to attendance through strong, multi agency working at school, multi academy trust, and Local Authority level. This includes a specific focus on identifying and supporting those pupils most at risk of persistent and severe absence from school to tackle absence early and put plans in place to improve attendance.Schools and Local Authorities should agree a joint approach to supporting severely absent pupils, recognising that their needs are often more complex, and they are more likely to need support from a number of agencies locally.The statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)’ emphasises that safeguarding is the responsibility of all professionals who work with children. Where a professional has concerns about a child, they should make an immediate referral to Local Authority children’s social care. It is the responsibility of Local Authority children’s services to assess children’s risk of harm. The latest data from 2021/22, shows that domestic abuse remains one of the most common factors identified in Children's Social Care Assessments.While there have been no specific discussions with my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on severe absence, the Home Office and the Department for Education have regular discussions on areas of joint interest. This includes the Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed (SAFE) taskforces in mainstream schools and the Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforces, which involve specialist support for children disengaged from education to improve their attendance and reduce their involvement in serious violence. The Secretary of State for Education chairs an Attendance Action Alliance of leaders of key frontline services that support families. Members from education, health, justice, the third sector, and parent organisations meet regularly and have collectively committed to use their roles and organisations to undertake activities to improve attendance and tackle persistent absence from school.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Entertainments: Fees and Charges

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had withticket sales and distribution companies on the level of their fees to customers.

Julia Lopez: My Department’s officials engage with the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (the self regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry in the United Kingdom) on a regular basis, as well as other organisations involved in the ticketing industry and consumer protection policy. In general, there are no limits on what service providers can charge for their services, but there are rules to prevent consumers from being misled as to the price of services. The Department for Business and Trade leads on policy relating to the primary ticketing market and my department continues to work closely with them on the issues in this area.Consumer legislation requires information, such as price, to be upfront, where possible, and transparent. The transaction process should provide customers with details of the total price before the customer confirms the purchase. Alleged breaches of the legislation should be reported to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06 or via its website here. They are able to pass complaints onto Trading Standards for further enforcement action where appropriate.

Gambling: Internet

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to prevent access to unregulated online gambling services.

Stuart Andrew: The Gambling Commission can deploy a range of business disruption techniques to prevent consumers accessing the unregulated online gambling market. It works with web hosting companies and search engines to remove sites or prevent them appearing on searches, and with payment providers to prevent payments to unlicensed operators. It also has powers to prosecute or to refer issues to partner agencies such as HMRC where necessary.The Gambling Act Review is looking at the Gambling Commission's powers and resources as part of its broad scope, including issues around unlicensed gambling. We will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Public Consultation

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which consultations published by their Department are awaiting a response; and when each of those responses (a) were initially planned to and (b) will be published.

Julia Lopez: There were twelve consultations published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) during the 2022/2023 financial year. Of these, a response is yet to be published for three of these. These are:Online Advertising Programme. The Government consultation on the Online Advertising Programme launched earlier last year and closed on 8 June 2022. We will be publishing a Government response to the consultation in due course.UNESCO World Heritage Sites - UK Tentative List Review. The new UK Tentative List is due to be announced in Spring 2023.Developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England. The Call for Evidence was held between June and September 2022 and received almost 4,000 responses. The results of the Call for Evidence will be published shortly.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: EU Law

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish documents held by her Department on the estimated red tape costs of implementing EU legislation from 2011 to 2020.

Julia Lopez: The Department does not collate historic information on the estimated red tape costs of implementing EU legislation. However, impact assessments in relation to specific pieces of legislation are conducted, where appropriate and proportionate, and published.The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Dyslexia

Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of civil servants with dyslexia pass the commercial function assessment at any grade with an A.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the accessibility of Civil Service commercial function assessments for candidates with (a) dyslexia and (b) other learning difficulties.

Alex Burghart: Achievement levels for civil servants with dyslexia is not held centrally. Government Commercial Function (GCF) works with staff networks (for example, the GCF Disability and Neurodivergent Network) to ensure that individuals are treated fairly and empathetically. Where appropriate GCF seeks professional advice, such as occupational health assessments, and encourages the use of the Workplace Adjustment Passports. The Assessment Development Centre is designed to be as accessible as possible. Participants are encouraged to discuss any adjustments they might need at the assessment centre and adjustments are open for further discussion and amendment if needed.

Death

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of deaths in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022 were (i) male and (ii) female.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon Gentlemen’s Parliamentary Question of 27 March is attached. UKSA Response (pdf, 125.3KB)

Ministry of Justice

Victim Support Schemes: Finance

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is able to provide an exact figure of the amount it plans to allocate in additional funding to support local victim services in 2023-24.

Damian Hinds: The Ministry of Justice funds local victim support services through Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), who commission local support in their area based on need, and through funding streams such as the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASAF) which funds rape support centres across England and Wales. We are more than quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41m in 2009/10. The department is in the final stages of allocations for 2023-24 and will be confirming funding for grant recipients once this process is concluded.

Reoffenders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences had previously received at least one community sentence in each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: Data showing the proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences, who have previously had at least one community sentence for each of the last ten years, is published on the Police National Computer. This can be viewed in the table below.Table showing the proportion of offenders(1), (2) sentenced to immediate custody(3) in each year, 2010-2021(4), who previously(5) received at least one community order(6), prior to the immediate custodial sentence. England and Wales(7).YearProportion of offenders who received at least one community order prior to an immediate custodial sentence 201040% 201146% 201249% 201352% 201454% 201554% 201655% 201756% 201857% 201958% 202059% 202155% Source: MoJ extract of the Police National Computer1 - 'Proportion' refers to: The number of offenders in each year who received an immediate custodial sentence on in each year and had at least one previous community order as a proportion of all offenders who received an immediate custodial sentence in the same year.2 - Offenders are counted once in each year but may appear in multiple years if they received an immediate custodial sentence in more than one of the ten years.3- Immediate custodial sentences include types of detention other than adult prison (e.g. detention and training orders given to 10 to 17 year olds or detention in Young Offenders Institutions). An offender sentenced to immediate custody does not necessarily mean that the offender is a member of the prison population.4 - The figures for 2020 and 2021 are likely to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.5 - Previous community orders may have been received at any time prior to the index offence (last immediate custodial sentence) in each year.6 - Community orders strictly include community orders, with or without electronic monitoring or curfew restrictions, but excludes other types of community sentences (e.g. youth rehabilitation order, supervision orders) and other sentences that may be served in the community (e.g. suspended sentence). At least some of the orders included were only introduced in their current form in 2005. 7 - England and Wales includes all 43 police force areas plus the British Transport Police

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Research: Regional Planning and Development

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the dataset entitled Gross domestic expenditure on research and development, by region, UK, published on 4 August 2021, what recent discussions her Department has had with the ONS on (a) the planned timescale for publication of the next release of that dataset and (b) the potential contribution of up-to-date data to help meet the 40 per cent minimum target for domestic public investment in research and development outside the Greater South East.

George Freeman: In order to enable measurement of the mission, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology contributes to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) work with Government departments to collect and publish data on publicly funded research and development (R&D) by region. Data for 2020/1 is scheduled for publication in April 2023. The release of the data on publicly funded R&D expenditure by region for 2020/21 this April will build the evidence base for the Government’s Levelling Up mission to increase domestic public R&D investment outside the Greater South-East by at least 40% by 2030.

Broadband: Natural Gas

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what data his Department holds on a potential correlation between properties being off the gas grid and having poor access to broadband.

Julia Lopez: Across Great Britain in 2021, an estimated 15 percent of domestic properties were not connected to the gas grid. This equates to around 4,393,000 properties. The devolved administrations have a higher percentage of properties not connected to the gas grid as in Scotland and Wales it is 19% each, compared to 15% in England.Ofcom Connected Nations 2022 states that around 80,000 premises (0.3%) in the UK do not have access to a decent broadband service via either a fixed or wireless network. This figure continues to decrease year on year (down from 123,000 the previous year). The devolved administrations have a higher percentage of premises eligible for the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) as in Scotland and Wales 0.7% of premises are eligible, compared to 0.15% in England.While the Department does not have data to show whether properties that are not connected to the gas grid are the same as those eligible for the broadband USO, we know that Scotland and Wales are disproportionately affected in both cases.

Project Gigabit: Norfolk

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Project Gigabit Winter Update published on 27 February 2023, when she plans to award the contract for Norfolk (Lot 7).

Julia Lopez: The Project Gigabit procurement for Norfolk launched in April 2022 and is currently in its final stages. Building Digital UK is assessing the bids put forward by suppliers and we aim to award a contract to the successful supplier shortly.

Telecommunications: Contracts

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of telecoms customers who had mid-contract price increases above inflation in the last 12 months.

Julia Lopez: Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor consumer trends in the telecoms sector, and it most recently reported on this in its Pricing Trends Report 2022. While not all providers have implemented price rises, the majority of consumers are likely to have been subject to in-contract price increases in the last 12 months. However, it is not possible to more accurately estimate this due to many households having multiple, bundled contracts across different suppliers.This is clearly a difficult time for families up and down the country who are struggling to pay their bills as a result of the global rise in the cost of living. To support people to stay connected, leaders from broadband and mobile operators agreed on a set of commitments. These include allowing households, who may be mid-contract but struggling with their bills, to switch to cheaper packages without penalty.On 23 January, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology met with chief executives from major broadband providers and made clear her concerns about the impact price rises may have on those who are struggling due to the rise in the cost of living. On 9 February 2023, Ofcom launched a review into the transparency of in-contract price rises. We will review Ofcom’s findings once this work has been completed.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Price Caps

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to discuss with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade a review of (a) Economy 7 and (b) its Programme for Work on the Price Cap.

Amanda Solloway: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on a number of issues. The setting of tariffs, including Economy 7, are a commercial matter for energy suppliers. The calculation of the energy price cap is a matter for Ofgem. The law requires Ofgem, as the expert independent regulator, to set the cap at a fair level.

Energy Price Guarantee

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on the future of the Energy Price Guarantee, following the 2023 Spring Budget.

Amanda Solloway: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero conducts frequent engagement and communication with relevant departments across the Department’s portfolio. No conversations have been had since Budget regarding the Energy Price Guarantee.

Energy: Meters

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to (a) offer dynamic tariffs to facilitate the deployment of smart electric solutions and (b) reward customers for providing flexibility in smart meter installation.

Amanda Solloway: The smart metering system has been designed to enable a range of flexible and dynamic tariffs that reward energy consumers for using electricity away from peak times, or when there is excess clean electricity available. Some energy suppliers are providing these tariffs to their customers with smart meters, helping them to save money by efficiently integrating electric vehicles, solar panels and heat pumps into the energy system. The National Grid Electricity System Operator’s (ESO's) Demand Flexibility Service has rewarded energy consumers with smart meters for voluntarily flexing the time when they use their electricity and has provided the ESO with an additional tool to manage the electricity system over this winter.

Energy: Meters

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to accelerate the rollout of smart meters.

Amanda Solloway: The smart meter rollout is making good progress, with 31.3 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses across Great Britain by the end of 2022. The Government wants as many households and small businesses as possible to benefit from smart metering. Therefore, a four-year smart meter Targets Framework was put in place at the beginning of 2022, setting energy suppliers minimum annual installation targets to drive further momentum. The Government expects energy suppliers to fulfil their regulatory obligations. Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against their obligations.

Heating: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to introduce policies to promote the (a) electrification of heating buildings and transport and (b) uptake of smart, low-carbon technologies for heat in buildings and transport.

Graham Stuart: On the electrification of heat, the Government aims to grow the heat pump market to support 600,000 installations per year by 2028, supported by targeted regulatory, market-based and public investment measures including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The Transport Decarbonisation Plan set out 78 ambitious commitments to decarbonise the sector by 2050, including through the rapid development and deployment of low carbon technologies and zero emission vehicles. The Government will review its pathway at least every five years to ensure the policy framework keeps pace with the latest technological developments. The Government is delivering the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan to remove barriers to smart technologies such as storage, smart charging of electric vehicles and flexible heating systems.

Energy: Meters

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to take steps to sanction energy companies found to have force-fitted energy meters in residential properties.

Amanda Solloway: Regulation of the energy supply sector is for independent regulator Ofgem. Ofgem has called for all suppliers to proactively check if any prepayment meters have been installed incorrectly and, where rules have been broken, to act now to offer customers a reversal of installations and compensation payments where appropriate. Ofgem also has powers to fine suppliers, if appropriate, to tackle non-compliance. The Government will continue to engage with Ofgem and energy suppliers to ensure sufficient action is taken to offer to redress to consumers who have been wrongly forced onto a prepayment meter.

Energy: Conservation

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to encourage energy firms to reintroduce energy saving sessions in winter 2023-24.

Graham Stuart: The 9th Big Energy Savings Week took place in January 2023. This annual campaign, led by Citizens Advice and working with the Energy Savings Trust, helps consumers get a better deal on their tariff, access discounts and make their homes more efficient. The Government welcomes the continuation of this work.

Energy Intensive Industries: Leisure and Swimming Pools

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will reclassify (a) public swimming pools and (b) leisure centres as energy and trade intensive industries.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to provide additional support with the increased cost of energy for leisure centres and gyms.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme review assessed a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence and contributions from businesses and other stakeholders, on sectors that may be most affected by price increase based on energy and trade intensity (ETII). The public leisure sector does not fall within the trade intensive category and is therefore not included in the ETII scheme. However, recognising the vital role that swimming pools and leisure facilities play in our communities, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Spring Budget additional funding of over £60 million for public swimming pool providers to help with immediate cost pressures and to make facilities more energy efficient.

Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Heat Pumps

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of projects announced under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund involve the installation of ground source heat pumps.

Graham Stuart: Under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) main fund, Wave 1 has awarded around £179m of grant funding for delivery from 2022 into 2023. At the point of award, 7% of projects were expected to install ground source heat pumps (GSHPs), including shared ground loops (SGLs). Published SHDF Wave 1 Official Statistics will show which measures have been delivered. Around £778m of grant funding was allocated to 107 projects under SHDF Wave 2.1 on 22 March 2023. At the point of award, 8% of successful projects intended to install GSHPs or SGLs.

Energy: Prices

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the (a) cost of energy for people with disabilities and (b) introduction of a social tariff.

Amanda Solloway: Government Ministers meet regularly to discuss a wide range of issues. Officials from HM Treasury and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are working closely with a range of stakeholders to assess options, including social tariffs, for a new approach to consumer protection from 2024. As part of this, the Government are working with disability organisations to assess the cost and affordability of energy for people with disabilities.

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many grants central Government has awarded to local authorities to deliver net zero projects in the last twelve months.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what is the total value of awards by central Government for local authorities to deliver net zero projects in the last twelve months.

Graham Stuart: The Government provides a wide range of funding to support local authorities in reaching net zero. Through their core settlement, grant funding schemes, and UK growth funding, the Government is enabling local authorities to tackle net zero goals. The Government has established the UK Infrastructure Bank with an initial £12billion of capital for the twin goals of tackling climate change and levelling-up. This includes a loan facility for local government to deliver net zero.

Buildings: Insulation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of labour in the insulation and retrofit sector.

Graham Stuart: For work carried out under Government schemes installers are required to be TrustMark registered, as well as PAS certified for energy efficiency measures and MCS certified for low carbon heating measures. In November 2022, there were 1782 TrustMark businesses across the UK which were certified to PAS or MCS standards. The Mace market intelligence report commissioned by BEIS last year found that in 2021 there were 154,748 individuals installing energy efficiency measures in England. Research undertaken last year by Eunomia shows there are between 36,000 and 87,000 non-domestic retrofit businesses in the UK. The Government is working with key industry bodies to consider what other actions are necessary both from industry and government to continue to grow this industry.

Energy: Planning

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure a coordinated approach to the delivery of local area energy plans.

Graham Stuart: The Government is considering the role of local-level energy planning in delivering Net Zero. We need to be clear on the value of local-level energy planning before taking decisions on how to coordinate delivery. This includes considering local-level energy planning in the context of potential future changes to the energy system, such as Ofgem's regional energy system planning proposals.

Energy: Planning

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department is providing to local authorities to develop local area energy plans.

Graham Stuart: The Government is considering the role of local-level energy planning in delivering Net Zero. We have supported the development of local area energy planning through the Prospering from the Energy Revolution (PFER) programme, to which we committed £104 million in funding. The PFER programme included co-funding for the development of local area energy planning guidance, and the production of plans for Peterborough, Pembrokeshire, Stafford, Cannock Chase and Lichfield.

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is his Department's policy that upper tier authorities should include all schools and school buildings in 2030 net zero commitments.

Graham Stuart: The Government has committed to achieving net zero by 2050. It recognises that local authorities have an essential role to play in local climate action, with significant influence in many of the national priorities across energy, housing, and transport, which are needed to achieve net zero. Local authorities have a lot of flexibility and discretion in how they take action, including in their engagement with schools. Local authorities have varied local opportunities, needs and circumstances.

Ministry of Defence

Ukraine: Guided Weapons

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has given permission to Ukraine to fire UK-supplied long-range missiles against targets inside Russia.

James Heappey: We have provided Ukraine with military aid on the understanding that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. We liaise on a daily basis with the Ukrainian Government, and they are clear that equipment provided by the UK is intended for the defence of Ukraine.

Claro Barracks: Operating Costs

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Claro Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2026-27.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Craigiehall was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of Craigiehall is in financial year 2023-24.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Harden Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in financial year 2023-24.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Catterick Town Centre Parcel was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of Catterick Town Centre Parcel is in financial year 2023-24.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Parsons Barracks, Donnington was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2029-30.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Prince William of Gloucester Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2028-29.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of St George’s Barracks, North Luffenham was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2026-27.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Venning Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2029-30.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Queen Elizabeth Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2026-27.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Sir John Moore Barracks, Winchester was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2026-27.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Towthorpe Lines was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of Towthorpe Lines is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2026-27.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Clive Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2029-30.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Fulwood Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2030-31.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the guidance entitled Disposal database: House of Commons report, updated on 6 March 2023, what the total running cost was of Kinnegar Logistic Base in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of Kinnegar Logistic Base will be in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial year.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2029-30.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the House of Commons Report: Disposal Database, updated in March 2023, what the total running cost was of Dale Barracks in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2022-23; what the projected running cost is of Dale Barracks in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2029-30.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the House of Commons Report: Disposal Database, updated in March 2023, what the total running cost was of Aldershot Distribution Outlet in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2022-23; what the projected running cost is of Aldershot Distribution Outlet for each financial year from 2023-24 to 2025-26.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the House of Commons Report: Disposal Database, updated in March 2023, what the total running cost was of Cawdor Barracks in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2022-23; what the projected running cost is of Cawdor Barracks in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2028-29.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the House of Commons Report: Disposal Database, updated in March 2023, what the total running cost was of Beachley Barracks in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2022-23; what the projected running cost is of Beachley Barracks in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2029-30.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Invicta Park Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2029-30.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Vauxhall Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2033-34.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of Dalton Barracks was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of those Barracks is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2030-31.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of RAF Henlow was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of RAF Henlow is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2026-27.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of RAF Barnham was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of RAF Barnham is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2027-28.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Disposal Database: House of Commons Report, updated in March 2023, what the running cost of RAF Halton was in each financial year since 2016-17; and what the projected running cost of RAF Halton is in each financial year from 2023-24 to 2027-28.

Alex Chalk: While the information requested is not held in this format, I have asked for work to be done to determine what can reasonably be provided. However, more time is required to collate this.I will write to the right hon. Member in due course when this work has concluded and place a copy of my response in the Library of the House.

Type 26 Frigates: Iron and Steel

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the steel procured for each Type 26 frigate is from UK steelyards.

Alex Chalk: For the Batch 1 Type 26 frigates, almost 50 per cent by value of the steel is UK sourced. . Approximately 994 tonnes of steel was purchased for the first Batch 2 ship, HMS Birmingham, in 2022 and 25 per cent of this steel was produced in the UK. Steel for the Type 31 frigates is sourced by Babcock from UK-based stockists. Both the Type 26 and Type 31 classes require the use of thin plate steel and this specification of steel with the required combination of thickness, size and flatness is not manufactured in the UK. Steel for our major defence programmes is generally sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers and is procured in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines. We encourage the sourcing of UK steel wherever it is technically and commercially feasible.

Department for Business and Trade

Redundancy

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the activities of P&O in 2022, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent companies making workers immediately redundant.

Kevin Hollinrake: The government is consulting on a draft Statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement that will deter employers from misusing controversial tactics and failing to engage in meaningful consultations with employees and their representatives.There are already clear rules in place around notification and consultation which employers must follow when making 20 or more employees redundant. Most companies, when facing up to these difficult decisions, do the right thing and follow these rules.Of course there will always be some that do not, and I agree it is important that our framework adequately deals with this.A civil investigation into P&O Ferries' actions by the Insolvency Service is of course ongoing. When this is complete, I will look at any findings closely and consider whether any change to the law is required.

Hospitality Industry

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she has taken to implement her hospitality strategy policies on improving the resilience of (a) pubs, (b) brewers and (c) other hospitality businesses in (i) Watford and (ii) the UK.

Kevin Hollinrake: We are working closely with the Hospitality Sector Council to deliver the 2021 Hospitality Strategy, and brought forward a Delivery Report on 1 March to show progress made. Business-led working groups are considering ways to improve business resilience, including innovation and sustainable practices, energy efficiency, jobs and skills, local partnerships, and improving access to finance. The Government continues to support businesses with their costs, and we are legislating to increase the new Draught Relief from 5% to 9.2% for beer and cider draught products and from 20% to 23% for wine, spirits based and other fermented draught products.

Skilled Workers: Vacancies

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department plans to take to address (a) skill and (b) labour shortages following the Budget 2023.

Kevin Hollinrake: At Spring Budget, the Government announced a wide-ranging package to break down barriers to work, unshackle business investment and tackle labour shortages head on. It included a new ‘Returnerships’ apprenticeship targeted at the over 50s, refining existing skills programmes to enable older workers to find a recognisable path back into work. The Chancellor also announced expansions to Sector-Based Work Academies and Skills Bootcamps, both existing and highly-successful skills programmes.The Government is also backing six Private Members Bills to help new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, giving all employees easier access to flexible working, and giving workers’ a right to request a more predictable working pattern.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what research his Department has commissioned on the effectiveness of benefit sanctions; and if he will place copies of that research in the Library.

Guy Opperman: The Department has conducted internal analysis on some elements of benefits sanctions and intend to release this report by the 10th April.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 4.148 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC1183, if he will publish the error rate data which informed this policy decision.

Guy Opperman: There are no plans to automate the decision making or the application of the sanction’s regime, which will continue to be undertaken by Work Coaches and Decision Makers. However, feedback from Work Coaches tells us that to create the original referral form for claimants that missed mandatory appointments is very slow and requires them to manually input all the required information. Any data input incorrectly would invalidate the referral meaning any associated decision could not be progressed. So, we are automating the creation of this form. The referral form will then be reviewed by the Work Coach and submitted to the Decision Maker to take the ultimate decision, in the normal way. We continually use a range of evidence to make improvements in our processes and in turn save taxpayers money.

Access to Work Programme

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Access to Work applications were rejected in each of the last five years.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested about the number of Access to Work applications that have been rejected is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, the Access to Work statistics includes how many applications result in provision being approved from 2007/08 to 2021/22. Please see Table 3 of the Access to Work statistics. The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here:Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). If the request is amended to how many applications were not approved for the last 3 years, Access to Work can provide the data. The number of applications will include applications not approved for the following reasons: No contact;No evidence;Not eligible;Not pursued; andOther.

Employment and Support Allowance

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Employment Support Allowance claimants are in (a) the Work-Related Activity Group and (b) the Support Group on the basis of substantial risk.

Tom Pursglove: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants can be placed in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) or the Support Group (SG) on the basis of substantial risk to the physical or mental health of any person, as set out in the regulations 29 (2[b]) and 35(2) of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 (SI 794). The table below shows the latest available number of claimants with ESA in payment in the WRAG and SG, who have been placed in those groups following a recommendation from a health professional following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA), that they be placed in those groups on the basis of physical or mental health risk. Data on cases that are placed in the WRAG or SG on the basis of physical or mental health risk by the DWP decision maker, after reconsideration or after appeal (where that was not the recommendation of the health professional undertaking the WCA), are held, but could only be provided at disproportionate cost.  Claimants with ESA in payment, Aug-22Support Group - Physical or Mental Health Risk253,100WRAG - Physical or Mental Health Risk24,500

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who were not awarded Personal Independence Payment following an initial decision were subsequently awarded a payment following a mandatory reconsideration in each of the last five years; and how many and what proportion of those people were awarded at least one enhanced component.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who were not awarded the Personal Independence Payment following the initial decision and mandatory reconsideration stages were subsequently awarded a payment by a tribunal in each of the last five years; and how many and what proportion of those people were awarded at least one enhanced component.

Tom Pursglove: Table 1 shows the number of individuals awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP) at mandatory reconsideration (MR) stage, following an initial decision to not award PIP by the financial year of the initial decision. Volumes and proportions of this group receiving at least one enhanced component of PIP have also been provided.Table 1 Financial Year of Initial DecisionNumber of individuals awarded PIP at MR stage following an initial decision to not award PIPNumber of individuals awarded PIP at MR stage following an initial decision to not award PIP and receiving at least one enhanced componentProportion of those awarded PIP at MR stage following an initial decision to not award PIP receiving at least one enhanced component2018/1914,1006,00042%2019/2024,0009,50040%2020/2130,00010,70036%2021/2224,1007,60031%2022/23*5,3001,50028%   Table 2 shows the number of individuals awarded PIP at appeal tribunal, following an initial decision and mandatory reconsideration decision to not award PIP by the financial year of the initial decision. Volumes and proportions of this group receiving at least one enhanced component of PIP have also been provided.  Table 2 Financial Year of Initial DecisionNumber of individuals awarded PIP at appeal tribunal following an initial decision and MR decision to not award PIPNumber of individuals awarded PIP at appeal tribunal following an initial decision and MR decision to not award PIP and receiving at least one enhanced componentProportion of those awarded PIP at appeal tribunal following an initial decision and MR decision to not award PIP receiving at least one enhanced component2018/1923,40010,10043%2019/2018,3007,70042%2020/2110,2004,00040%2021/2211,8004,90042%2022/23*90030035%  Please note:Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages to the nearest percent;Data for England and Wales (excluding Scotland) has been provided in line with the latest published figures on PIP;These figures include initial decisions following assessment for PIP (New Claims and Reassessments) up to 30th September 2022, the latest date for which published data is available;These figures include appeal and mandatory reconsideration outcomes up to 30th December 2022, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more appeals could be made and completed after December 2022, so numbers may change as it can take some time for an appeal to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision;The 2022/23 financial year is therefore incomplete; andAppeal figures provided do not include lapsed appeals. A lapsed appeal is where the DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged, but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing.

Work Capability Assessment

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the proposal in the Health and Disability White Paper, CP 807, published in March 2023, to remove the Work Capability Assessment, whether he plans to amend the Personal Independence Payment assessment.

Tom Pursglove: We want the system to continue to support people who need it most, without the requirement to have limited capability for work or work-related activity to access additional support, as is the case with the Work Capability Assessment. Instead, we want to encourage people to start, stay and succeed in work where they are able to, without the worry that they will lose financial support. For the group that receive the UC health element as a result of being determined to have LCWRA, but do not receive PIP, we will carefully consider whether they meet the PIP assessment and eligibility criteria.

Personal Independence Payment

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new Personal Independence Payment awards were made to people who had previously been in receipt of (a) personal independence payment or (b) disability living allowance but at the time of registration were not in receipt of either of those benefits in each of the last five years.

Tom Pursglove: Data on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims after August 2022 cannot be shared as the information is intended for publication at a future date. The department does not make any indication of the statistics public ahead of release. The table below provides the data for awards of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in the most recent five full years, by date of registration, where claimants had previously been in receipt of PIP or DLA prior to making a new PIP registration. Table (a): Awards of PIP for people with previous receipt of PIP or DLA, by PIP registration year 20172018201920202021Previously received PIP740010000114001290015800Previously received DLA2860029400279002790049800 Sources: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS), Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) Notes:Data covers England and Wales only;This is data from initial decisions only and does not include mandatory reconsiderations or appeals;People registering on PIP may previously have been on both PIP and DLA, and so would be counted twice in these figures;DLA data is only available from May 2002; andFigures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Social Security Benefits and Unemployment: Bolton South East

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people that were are (a) economically inactive and (b) claiming benefits in (i) 2010 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available in Bolton South East constituency; and what assessment his Department has made of trends in that constituency in the level of (a) employment and (b) benefit usage since (i) 2013, (ii) 2018 and (iii) the onset of the covid-19 outbreak.

Guy Opperman: The information requested on employment and inactivity is published and available hereThe information requested on benefits is published and available here

Universal Credit

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants are assessed to have (a) Limited Capability for Work and (b) Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity on the basis of substantial risk.

Tom Pursglove: The requested information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Access to Work Programme: Staff

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new staff have been recruited to work on the Access to Work programme in each of the last six months for which data is available; and whether his Department plans to recruit more staff to work on this programme.

Tom Pursglove: Access to Work have deployed an additional 101 staff through recruitment and redeployment from other DWP departments since October 2022. MonthRecruited/redeployedOctober 202211November 20221December 20220January 202329February 202356March 20234  A further 51 people will be joining in April/May from a recent recruitment exercise.

Access to Work Programme

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March to Question 153716 on Access to Work Programme, what recent progress the Department has made on increasing the digitisation of the Access to Work programme.

Tom Pursglove: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 30 March to question number PQ172460.

Personal Independence Payment

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which (a) organisations and (b) individuals responded to the Health and Disability Green Paper consultation proposing making PIP the sole health-based assessment in the benefits system.

Tom Pursglove: During the consultation, we heard the views of more than 4,500 people and organisations and discussed our proposals at over 40 public events. In the consultation, people with long-term or chronic health conditions said that they should be assessed less frequently and that the PIP assessment and Work Capability Assessment (WCA) overlapped, leading to additional stress. We know that a large number of people who receive a health or disability benefit currently need to complete two applications and undergo two assessments to receive additional support for their disability or health condition. We heard that people found these assessments contained unnecessary duplication and that they caused anxiety and distress. This is, in part, due to a fear that trying work or work-related activity could trigger a repeat assessment that could result in the loss of their benefit entitlement. These issues and barriers cannot be fully resolved by making small changes to the health and disability benefits system, but instead require fundamental changes to the design of the system. We have addressed these themes within our White Paper by committing to remove the financial disincentives that exist within the current system and reducing the assessment burden that people currently face. We will legislate to remove the WCA so that in future there will only be one health and disability assessment - the Personal Independent Payment (PIP) assessment. PIP will not be means-tested and will stay separate from UC.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were receiving the (a) support element of Employment Support Allowance and (b) limited capability for work-related activity element of Universal Credit, but were not receiving the (i) Personal Independent Payment and (ii) Disability Living Allowance in the latest 12 months for which data are available.

Tom Pursglove: On 31st August 2022,  259,000 people in Great Britain were receiving the Support Group award of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) without receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). 373,000  people were receiving the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity Element (LCWRA) of Universal Credit (UC) without receiving PIP or DLA. The below table shows the figures for the end of the four most recent quarters.  Month endNov-21Feb-22May-22Aug-22 People receiving ESA/UC without PIP/DLAESA Support Group292,000281,000270,000259,000 UC LCWRA307,000327,000350,000373,000  Sources: Benefit Combinations, Universal Credit Full Service, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Notes:This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and may be subject to future revision;Data covers Great Britain only;The volumes above may include claimants that are subsequently given a PIP award that covers the reference date;The volumes may also include Scottish claimants that are claiming Scottish disability benefits (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment) instead of PIP or DLA; andFigures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Department for Transport

Road Traffic Control

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the National Highways CHARM system has suffered an outage lasting in excess of ten minutes in the last 12 months.

Mr Richard Holden: In the last 12 months there have been: 18 planned outages for routine maintenance and upgrades, and 21 unplanned outages, lasting more than 10 minutes to the CHARM system. Of these, 26 impacted single regions only. During these outages National Highways has well-rehearsed mitigations in place, including, but not limited to dedicated Traffic Officer patrols and increased monitoring of CCTV.

Engines: Hydrogen

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take further steps to support hydrogen combustionengine technology.

Jesse Norman: Hydrogen combustion engines offer the potential to decarbonise part of the transport sectors where battery electric is not t a viable solution. The Government has recently supported JCB, for example, to test new hydrogen combustion machinery on the public highway, as well as supported research into the liquid hydrogen combustion for aviation engines.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report by the International Council on Clean Transportation entitled Reassessment of excess NOx from diesel cars in Europe following the Court Justice of the European Union rulings, published on 22 March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's findings on the prevalence of illegal technology that tampers with emission controls.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles fitted with a prohibited defeat device have had an emissions-related fix since 2015.

Jesse Norman: The Government is committed to reducing air pollution from all forms of transport, which has significantly reduced since 2010. Emissions of nitrogen oxides have fallen by 45% and emissions of PM2.5 by 10% since that date.The DVSA Market Surveillance Unit will continue to conduct a vehicle-emissions testing programme to monitor vehicle emissions performance and address non-compliance where identified.Since 2015, there have been 134 manufacturer recalls or non-code actions involving a total of 1.85 million vehicles to amend or upgrade emissions systems. Not all action will have been to address non-compliance.

Active Travel: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to active travel for the years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.

Jesse Norman: In the financial year 2022-23 the Department provided approximately £200 million of dedicated capital funding for active travel and approximately £71 million of dedicated revenue funding. These figures do not include the funding for active travel schemes that came from wider funding streams such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).The Department has confirmed that a total of at least £100m of dedicated capital funding for active travel will be provided over the two-year period 2023/24 to 2024/25, and is currently finalising the revenue budget for active travel for those years as part of its consideration of all future spending plans. Again, this does not include funding for active travel schemes from wider funding streams.

Heathrow Airport: Passengers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of waiting times at Heathrow Airport on passengers; and what discussions his Department has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the steps being taken to reduce waiting times at that airport.

Jesse Norman: It is the responsibility of industry to manage demand, recruit and roster staff. The Aviation Minister and DfT officials continue to engage with the sector, including Heathrow to gain assurances on their operational planning and performance.For Heathrow, this includes their planning for industrial action that coincides with the Easter period. At peak periods, passengers should be prepared that airports will be busier and should follow all advice from their airline and the airport. The Aviation Passenger Charter, published last year, makes clear the rights of passengers and the responsibilities of the sector.On 27 March the CEO of the CAA Richard Moriarty and Director General for Aviation, Maritime and Security, Rannia Leontaridi jointly wrote to CEOs across the aviation sector to set out expectations ahead of the Summer 2023 season.Under the CAA’s economic regulation of Heathrow, the airport is required to measure its security queues against targets of 95% of queues below 5 minutes and 99% below 10 minutes. The performance can be tracked via Heathrow’s website.

Active Travel: Air Pollution

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of active travel measures on levels of air pollution.

Jesse Norman: Active travel supports the delivery of the Government’s air quality and net zero ambitions for transport. Walking and cycling can reduce the need for car journeys, so people and goods to move in an emission-free way. The Department has not made a detailed assessment of the effect of specific active travel measures on air quality, but expects that they will generally be positive.